


Who Saved Who?

by Mystria21



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Needs a Hug, Age Difference, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Attempted Kidnapping, Boy Saves Girl, Crimes & Criminals, Danger, Declarations Of Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Girl Saves Boy, Happy Aaron Hotchner, Healing, Hurt Aaron Hotchner, Idiots in Love, Jealous Aaron Hotchner, Kidnapping, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Older Man/Younger Woman, Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Protectiveness, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 36,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystria21/pseuds/Mystria21
Summary: Aaron Hotchner finds himself drawn to a young sexual assault victim from a case-gone-wrong. He vows to protect her, but can he really? Should he even have promised such a thing? He can't get her off of his mind and the team starts to notice.This is an AU where I don't follow any show timelines, though I do use some BAU case details. I also place them in our decade by having them use smart phones, streaming services, etc.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Original Female Character(s), Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid (Mentioned/To be expanded on in further chapters), Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr., Penelope Garcia/Kevin Lynch, The BAU Team & Original Character(s), The BAU Team/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

“FBI! We’re coming in!” SSA Emily Prentiss yelled before SSA Morgan kicked the door open. The house was two stories, ragged, and smelled of dirty socks. Still, they rushed in, guns at the ready, sweeping each corner.

“Prentiss!” Morgan yelled from the other side of the house, “I got him--he’s running out back!”

Emily motioned for members of the swat to follow him and give him back up. She continued sweeping the house, SSA Rossi close behind her. They climbed the stairs, careful not to step on the junk spread on each step. The walls surrounding the stair case harbored family photos, some from almost thirty years back, and others that were newer.

“Prentiss,” Rossi spoke, “It was just like we said: he was a family man, through and through.”

“Some family man,” she scoffed. “Pictures never do tell you the full story.”

Continuing up the stairs, they stepped carefully through the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Each room was filled with papers, boxes, and trash. Then, they came to the master bedroom.

Immediately Emily noticed the young woman cowering in the corner farthest from the door. She had dried blood, dirt, and bruises over her naked body. She curled up into a ball, trying to hide.

“Rossi,” Emily whispered as she put away her gun. “Hey,” she spoke to the girl this time, “my name is Emily Prentiss, and I’m with the FBI. It’s okay, you’re safe now.” She stepped cautiously closer toward the corner, holding her hands up as if she was talking to a frightened animal.

“St—stay away from me,” the girl’s meek voice commanded.

Emily took another step. “Melissa, your name is Melissa, right? We’re here to rescue you. You’re safe.” Once more, she stepped softly toward her.

The girl glared at the intruder, then extended her arm, showing a silver revolver. “I said stay away!”

“Okay,” Emily tensed, “I’m backing up, it’s okay.”

Rossi pulled out his gun and trained it on the girl. “Drop the gun, Melissa. Just as my friend said, you are safe. We are chasing Eric down right now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

The girl’s eyes fluttered from Emily to Rossi, but the gun remained tightly clenched in her hand. “Just—just leave me alone!” Her voice wavered.

Emily looked around the room. It was shaped like any normal bedroom, the queen-sized bed propped against the wall in the middle, a closet to the left of the door, and a bookshelf to the right. When her eyes landed on the bed once more, Emily noticed the handcuffs attached to the wooden headboard. Restraints were also attached to the footboard. Looking back at girl, Emily saw the raw skin around her ankles and wrists. It disgusted her to think what the unsub had done. She looked down at her own feet, afraid staring would upset the girl.

Under one of her shoes was today’s newspaper. The front page showed a picture of their investigation, Hotch’s face front and center. Emily looked back up at the girl, an idea forming. The girl’s eyes met hers and Emily knew her idea would work.

“Rossi,” Emily called, never taking her eyes off the gun pointed at her, “get Hotch up here.”

Without question, Rossi moved his left hand to his shoulder, pressed the mic on, and said, “Hotch, can you come up to the second floor master? We have a situation.”

“On my way,” Hotch answered through their ear sets.

Emily once more spoke to the girl, “Melissa, I’m going to back out of the room, okay? Please do not shoot. I’m going to leave you alone, just like you want.” She slowly began taking steps back toward the door.

“Him too.” The girl gestured with the gun to Rossi.

“Okay,” Emily responded, “him too.”

Rossi let Emily pass him out the door before he began to back up as well. Soon, they were both in the hallway, out of sight.

SSA Hotchner came into view seconds later. His face was serious when he said, “Those pictures almost make it look like this guy led a normal life.”

“Tell me about it,” Emily replied, “but there is nothing normal about what he did to that girl.”

“So you found her?” Hotchner asked.

Rossi replied, “Oh, we found her. She’s cowering in the corner with a revolver pointed at anyone who tries to get close to her.”

Hotch’s eyebrows sunk lower on his face. “And you tried to talk to her?”

“I did,” Emily said, “and she still wouldn’t let me get close to her. You know, she waited until I was halfway to her to pull out the gun. I don’t think she wants to hurt us. In fact, I think she’ll talk to you, Hotch.”

“Me?”

“Today’s newspaper was on the floor, with your face on it.”

“And you think she’ll recognize me and trust what I say.” Hotch nodded. “I’ll give it a shot.” He began to take off his vest.

Rossi jumped in, “I don’t think you should go in there alone, Hotch. This girl, she’s desperate. She’s trapped and scared.”

“If I have some rapport with her, I have to try, Rossi. But you’re right, I shouldn’t be alone. Stand in the doorway, but not in the room. Prentiss, go see if you can help Morgan. So far they are searching the woods.”

Emily nodded and watched as Hotch entered the room, Rossi close behind.

As soon as he entered, Hotch saw the barrel pointed at him. He didn’t look around the room, survey the area, or watch where he stepped. Instead, he kept his eyes on Melissa’s and hoped she recognized him.

“Stay back,” she sniffed.

He stopped moving forward. “Melissa, my name is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI. I don’t have a weapon, I just want to talk.”

Hotch felt the girl’s eyes roam over him, looking for a threat. He took the time to assess her as well. She had indeed suffered much in her time as Eric Newman’s captive. Yet he could also see the fight in her eyes, something that had probably saved her from becoming like Eric’s other victims.

Slowly, Hotch crouched to Melissa’s level. He thought carefully on how to address her. She had been the victim of an anger-retaliatory serial killer. Each of Eric’s previous victims were meant as a surrogate for his mother—the first woman who had discredited his feelings. Eric’s mother, along with his other victims, had had brown hair and brown eyes. Melissa, however, had meant something else to the unsub, as indicated by her blonde hair and blue eyes, and this connection was still unknown to the team.

Finally, Hotch spoke, “Melissa, I know you don’t want to hurt me. You recognize me, right? From the newspaper? My team and I, we’ve come all the way from Virginia to rescue you.”

“You—you shouldn’t have come,” she replied.

Aaron’s face became grave. Did she not think she deserved to be rescued? “Why shouldn’t we have come, Melissa?”

“He—He will kill you all. The last time. . .”

Aaron knew what she was referring to, for before they had even landed the plane in San Diego California, Eric had killed a whole squadron of police officers trying to capture him. She must have thought she was safe then too. He felt for her, he did. She hadn’t asked for any of this, and yet here she was.

He wanted her to feel safe now, and so he said, “Melissa, I promise, as long as I’m around, Eric will not touch you again.”

Her blue eyes locked on his for a second, and Aaron could see she wanted to believe him, but then she started to shake her head, tears streaming down her face. “No one can protect me,” she said through the tears. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the tears stopped, and a strange peace came over her face as she moved the gun up to her temple.

Fear swept over Aaron. She was ready to kill herself, he saw, but he couldn’t let her die, not after everything they had gone through to save her—not after everything she had overcome. He had to distract her, he knew, and so he kept talking.

“Melissa, please, don’t pull that trigger.” He crouched a bit closer to her, making sure she was watching him. “Do you want to know what I saw when I walked into this room? I saw a strong woman able to withstand an abusive psychopath long enough to be rescued. You’ve made it so far, Melissa. Don’t throw that away. You can beat this.”

Her hand began to shake, “how,” she whispered, “how?”

Slowly Aaron moved closer to her, reaching out his hand, “start by giving me the gun.”

Her blue eyes darted from him to his hand, and she watched as he leaned a bit closer every second. He was going to take the gun. Fear swept over her.

“No!” she said as she once more pointed the gun at Hotch. “Back up,” her voice cracked, “please.”

Hotch froze as he stared down the barrel of a gun once more. It was a daunting thing, staring at a gun, but Aaron knew Melissa wouldn’t shoot him. She was using the gun as a shield, rather than a weapon.

“Okay, different step,” Aaron said, “let’s start by covering you up, how does that sound?”

Melissa’s brow furrowed as Aaron began taking off his suit jacket, but then he offered it to her. As Melissa moved to take the jacket, Aaron was painfully aware of the bruising on her naked body. She truly had been through hell. Keeping her gun hand pointed at him, Melissa reached to take the jacket, never taking her eyes off Aaron’s.

She tried to cover herself with the jacket, aware of Aaron’s brown eyes analyzing her torn up body, but the jacket wasn’t able to cover up her legs. Still, she felt comfort wrap around her.

Aaron noticed the change in her demeanor and gave her a small smile, though inside he was wondering how long it had been since she had some comfort. “Feel better?” Aaron asked. Melissa didn’t smile back, but Aaron could see she was now searching his face for something—trust, perhaps?

“There’s this . . . um,” Melissa cleared her throat. Aaron watched her intently, but noticed that the gun once more began to shake. “There’s this saying my dad had always told me. He used to say . . . The road is filled with indecisive chickens. Or, um, something like that. The point is . . .”

Aaron watched her carefully. He heard Rossi shuffle closer, but kept his eyes on Melissa. He saw the fear in her eyes and could see her body trembling. A flash of doubt came over Aaron, had he misjudged her? Would she kill him?

Melissa let out a sigh and lowered the gun to the floor. Aaron too felt his shoulders relax.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered.

Aaron moved closer to her, wanting to comfort her more, but knew he shouldn’t. “I promise, Melissa, you are safe with me. Understand?”


	2. Chapter 2

Melissa nodded, but then shifted uncomfortably. “I . . . I forgot your name.”

“Aaron” he replied.

“Aaron,” Melissa whispered, as if tasting it. Then, she composed herself and spoke, “Aaron . . . I . . . My legs are too weak to hold me up.”

Aaron’s face became soft. Here this strong woman was, beaten and bruised, asking for help. He respected her for it. “I can get an EMT team here to roll you out, if you want?”

Quickly, Melissa shook her head, afraid of such an option.

“Well then,” Aaron stood up, “I could carry you, if you’d be okay with that.”

Melissa looked up at him and then nodded slightly.

Aaron crouched closer to her and wrapped one arm under her bare legs and the other behind her shoulders. As he lifted her up, he frowned at how light she was. When was the last time she had eaten?

Melissa kept her eyes down as SSA Hotchner carried her out of the room, passing SSA Rossi, SSA Prentis, and other random people swarming the house. Aaron took her outside, past the cameras and cop cars to an ambulance.

An EMT worker met them and Melissa shied away from him, burrowing further into Aaron’s arms. Aaron noticed and requested the EMT worker not touch her. Instead, Aaron was able to place Melissa inside the ambulance where all the chaos seemed far away, and as they prepared to transport Melissa to the hospital, Aaron insisted he ride with her.

Before driving away, Aaron stepped out of the ambulance to talk with Rossi. Melissa could overhear some of the conversation, in which Aaron asked if Derek could watch Jack. Whoever that was. Rossi patted Aaron on the back and then whispered something in his ear. Aaron’s face grew troubled but then clouded to a stoic mask. This was the face he walked into the ambulance with, and Melissa felt that he was far away.

Although she had had her eyes downward as Aaron walked through the house, she had secretly looked up when he had walked outside. Looking around, the flashes of cameras and cop siren lights startled her, but she looked around anyway. She had to know if they had caught Eric, but she had not seen his face among the crowd.

“You didn’t catch him, did you?”

Aaron’s eyes caught hers and he frowned. “No, he got away in the woods.”

Melissa hung her head and hugged herself tightly. “He’ll come for me.”

Aaron felt her retreating back to the scared woman she had been when he walked in. “No, Melissa, look at me. Please.” Slowly, she met his eyes, and he continued. “I have every intention of keeping my promise. I will protect you. My team and I will catch him. He will never touch you again.”

Melissa looked away, and covered her face in her hands. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Aaron.”

She didn’t speak the rest of the way to the hospital, and Aaron feared he had lost her trust. But when the hospital team came to wheel her into the building, she only let him touch her. He gently placed her on the bed and followed as they rushed her to an open room.

As fast as the nurses came, they were gone, and Melissa and Aaron were alone in the hospital room. Melissa watched as he pulled the chair closer to her and then sat down. She could see how tired he was and guilt overwhelmed her. He should be home, sleeping comfortably with his wife—for she hadn’t failed to notice his wedding ring. It was, in fact, one of the reasons she had chosen to trust him. He was a family man, she could see—though that hadn’t stopped Eric. Was her trust in Aaron misplaced?

Anxiety began to fill her and Aaron saw as her breathing became shallower. She refused to meet his eyes, instead looking frantically around the room. “Hey,” he said, “What’s wrong?”

Melissa looked at him once more, but knew she could not tell him how she had compared him to Eric. Instead, she said the first thing to pop into her head: “You shouldn’t stay here. You should go home.”

Aaron’s eyebrows perked up, “I promised you I’d stay with you, didn’t I?”

“Well, yes, but—“ Melissa searched for the lost words, but the nurses entered once more.

“Melissa, we are going to take you for an x-ray now, to see how we can help your legs.”

Aaron watched as Melissa scanned the nurses, unsure whether to trust them. “I’ll be here when you get back, okay?”

As they rolled her away, Aaron watched as Melissa’s eyes darted between the nurses and him. He knew she was panicking, but also knew he could not go with her. Immediately he regretted telling her that he’d watch over her. This wasn’t part of his job. Escorting a victim to the hospital, sure, but staying with that victim? Promising to keep her safe? He knew Strauss would have his ass tomorrow.

And yet, he felt oddly attached to this woman who had gone through so much and still had the strength to trust a stranger. He knew she would heal, in time. How much time he could remain with her, he did not know.

Through the window, he saw his team walking toward him. They too were tired and upset that they hadn’t caught Eric, he could see it in their faces. Standing up, he went to greet them.

“Hotch,” Derek said, “I called Jessica. She’s able to watch him for a couple more days.”

“Thank you for doing that Morgan.”

“Wait, a few more days?” Rossi spoke, “Hotch, I know you want to catch this guy, but you know better than all of us that we won’t be able to catch him any time soon. He’s hunkering down, waiting for the moment he can get her again.”

Emily chimed in, “well, is there any possibility this guy will just find a new fixation? I mean he changed his victimology once, he could do it again.”

“Actually, the likelihood of him changing his M.O. again is extremely low. This guy is no longer acting like a serial killer as much as he is acting like a stalker.”

“And we just took away his favorite toy,” Rossi quipped.

“Dave,” Aaron growled, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t objectify her.”

“I just meant—“

“I know what you meant, Dave, and I didn’t appreciate it.”

The team glanced at each other in shock. Hotch was a hard ass, but he normally didn’t snap like that.

“Hotch,” JJ softly touched his arm, “are you okay?”

His shoulders slumped. “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry to snap at you Dave, I’m just tired.”

“Aren’t we all?” Rossi slapped him on the back. “Let’s all go back to the hotel and have a scotch before bed. We might not have caught the guy, but we saved the girl.”

Aaron watched as his team broke into smiles and began mini conversations with each other as they walked toward the exit. JJ, however, watched him.

“You guys go ahead, JJ. I’m going to stay with Melissa a little bit longer.”

“Hotch,” JJ frowned, “do you think that’s wise? You know Strauss will want us to leave tomorrow.”

“I promised her, JJ.”

JJ pursed her lips. “Alright, I’ll let the others know. And I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Aaron gave her a small smile. JJ always knew when to push and when not to push. He appreciated that about her. “Have a good night, JJ,” he said as she walked off to catch up with the team.

Retreating back to the room, Aaron once more sat on the lone chair and let his eyelids flutter closed.


	3. Chapter 3

Waking to a start, Aaron tried to understand the nurse that was now shaking him awake. He suspected she had repeated herself multiple times by now.

“Sir, please, sir, the woman you came in with, she’s screaming and won’t calm down. They wanted to sedate her but—“

Cutting her off, he said, “Take me to her.”

She nodded and ran out the door. The further they ran through the hospital, the louder Melissa’s screams got. It sounded as if she was being attacked, though Aaron doubted that was truly the case. With what she had gone through, she most likely had PTSD.

Rounding the corner, Aaron saw how Melissa’s left arm was strapped to the hospital bed, but the other arm flailed as she screamed at the Doctor trying to sedate her. One nurse was on the ground, trying to pick up the fallen items while another was trying to hold Melissa down.

“Stop!” Aaron yelled as he pushed through to Melissa. “Please, everyone just step back from her.” The doctor and nurse did as he demanded and Melissa finally stopped screaming. Aaron quickly loosened the strap holding her arm to the hospital bed. As she got free, Melissa wrapped Aaron in a hug, crying into his neck.

Slowly Aaron put his arms around this scared woman and held her. In the back of his mind, he could sense that this was wrong, that he had let Melissa get too attached to him. He was leaving tomorrow, after all, and she would be on her own once more.

He broke free from her hug. “Hey, it’s okay, Melissa. Just tell me what happened.”

Through her tears, Melissa whispered, “Eric, I—I saw him. I saw him.”

Aaron’s brows furrowed. Then he scanned the room. There were four nurses and one doctor, only one door, and the x-ray machine. He looked at the doctor for answers.

“As you know, Agent Hotchner, we brought her in to x-ray her legs. I went into the back room to set up the equipment and Nurse Jonson here prepped the patient. Next thing I know, the patient had hit my nurse and began screaming. We tried to calm her down but she continued to be hysterical, that is when we restrained her and I grabbed the tools to sedate her. Next thing I know, you’re in here ordering us around.”

Aaron glared at the man. He obviously had no compassion for Melissa nor an idea what she had gone through the last few weeks. Aaron looked back at Melissa, he should not have let her come alone. And yet, he knew that helping the victim recover was not in his job description. He caught the killers, then they went home. He remembered then how Gideon had always taken a role in helping those he had saved to recover—seeing that struggle was what ultimately led him to leave the BAU.

“I—I saw him, Aaron. Please believe me. I saw him.”

Aaron searched her eyes. Eric’s behavior did resemble that of a stalker after his MO had changed, Reid was right about that. But would he really come to the hospital? All the police who had aided in this case were searching for him. Would he really risk it?

On the other hand, he thought, Melissa had been through significant trauma. Even if Eric hadn’t infiltrated the hospital, Aaron had no doubt Melissa had seen him, one way or another. It isn’t uncommon for trauma victims to have flashbacks.

Melissa’s eyes pleaded with him, and Aaron made a decision.

“Call hospital security and tell them to search the hospital. I’ll call the police to let them know our killer has been sighted on the grounds.”

A nurse ran off to do as he requested. Aaron then felt Melissa let out a breath and relax. “Thank you,” she said as she squeezed his hand lightly and smiled.

Aaron felt a shiver run up his spine. This traumatized woman had just smiled at him and he felt himself smiling back.

Half an hour later, Aaron found himself watching the sunrise from Melissa’s hospital room. After leaving the x-ray room, he had called the police and brought their search closer to the hospital, but they had come up empty. If Eric had been here, he was now either hiding or long gone. The nurse who had woken him up now rolled Melissa back into the room.

The nurse placed Melissa back in the center of the room and whispered to call her if she needed anything. Melissa seemed calm around this nurse, and for that Aaron was grateful.

“After you left, Agent Hotchner, the x-rays proceeded without any issue. Melissa has given us permission to share these with you. It turns out that her left ankle was fractured before you brought her here. It is relatively minor but she will receive a boot and crutches. It will be hard for her to get around for a few months. For now, I suggest she just gets some rest. In addition to her fracture she is also severely dehydrated and from the looks of it hasn’t had a good meal in a couple of days. I will have another nurse bring her some food, but let her eat slowly. I’ll be back to check on her in a couple of hours.”

Aaron looked at Melissa, a frown hung on his face. She did not meet his eyes. Turning back to the nurse, Aaron thanked her and took the file of x-rays. As the nurse left, Aaron brought the chair close to Melissa’s bed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Eric had done to her. Despite his change in victims, Eric hadn’t changed his method of torture. He beat, raped, and eventually killed his other victims. No doubt Eric was responsible for Melissa’s fractured ankle. And those chains on the bed . . . Aaron shook his head, trying to let the image leave him.

Melissa watched as Aaron stared at her hospital blanket, clearly somewhere else. She looked away, fear once again overcoming her. So far, he had kept the promise of keeping her safe, but as much as she wished he would stay by her forever, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. This man, this FBI agent, had a life, a wife, maybe even a family. Things she would never have. Eric would be back. He would take her again—she was his after all—and she did not want Aaron caught in the middle of it. It’s funny, she had met him a few hours ago, and yet she felt as if . . . as if she needed to protect him. She scoffed at herself. Here she was, crippled in a hospital bed, unsure how life would go on, thinking about protecting this tired man.

“Aaron,” she said softly, “you should go home.”

Aaron’s eyes found hers. He knew he looked tired. Since coming to San Diego the team hadn’t rested much, working around the clock to find her. “I’m fine, Melissa, really. I made a promise to you.”

Melissa wasn’t sure how to respond, and so she didn’t. She turned her head and closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten decent sleep, but she had no illusions that was what she’d get in this hospital bed. Her wrists still felt tied to that bed. And the smell of Eric was everywhere.

Quickly she opened her eyes and looked around the room. The sun shone brightly now and a tray of food had been placed on her left. Aaron wasn’t in the room, and the chair that he had used was pushed back in its original place near the window. He had left her, she thought even as she scanned the other places he could be in the room. But the room was empty, as was the hallway.

She wasn’t surprised, per se, that Aaron had finally left, but she couldn’t quite put a name to the emotions that ran through her body. She stared at the ceiling, unsure what to do now. Eric would come for her soon, and running was not an option, though she felt her body go into fight or flight mode. She needed to get out of here. He’d come for her. Aaron was gone, and Eric would come for her. Her mind raced. She felt like a prisoner again, unable to move.

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself, but no matter how hard she tried to stop the memories, they flashed in front of her. Eric’s face. The smell of blood. The pain of the beatings. The screams. _Her_ screams. Tears began to fall down her face. She was tired. She just wanted it to all go away. Why wouldn’t it go away?

“Melissa?” Aaron walked into the room and rushed over to her side. He could hear her heartbeat monitor rushing and see the way her hands trembled as they covered her eyes. “Hey, Melissa, hey, it’s Aaron. I’m here.” He reached out to touch her shoulder, just to let her know he was there. But when his hand met her skin, she flinched.

Her eyes grew wide and fearful, then settled on his face. He watched as she realized it was only him and not the man who had kept her chained to a bed for weeks. “Hey,” Aaron whispered, “It’s okay, you’re safe. You’re safe.”

Melissa stared at Aaron, frowning at the fact he still wore yesterday’s clothes. He hadn’t left her. Why hadn’t he left her?

As if reading her mind, he spoke, “I left to get some coffee. I didn’t want to wake you.”

Silence filled the room. Melissa still calming down, and Aaron watching her closely. “You know,” Aaron said, “it is normal for panic attacks to arise after a traumatic event.”

Melissa looked at her still trembling hands, unsure what to say or do.

Aaron cleared his throat, “here, let me show you something.” He held out his hand. She stared at his hand for a while, then slowly brought her own hand to his. He cleared his throat, and then continued, “Staying in the present is one way to help with panic attacks. So, sometimes, when I need to come back to the present, I rub right here.” He pressed his thumb into the base of her thumb and rubbed softly in circles. The circles started off small and then widened until he was rubbing her whole palm with his thumb. A chill ran down his spine as he felt her skin.

Melissa’s breathing had slowed and she seemed entranced watching his thumb brush her palm. His hand was certainly bigger and rougher than hers and yet he touched her softly. Her eyes met his and she felt warmth rush through her body. Surprisingly, she didn’t want the feeling, or the moment, to end.


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron cleared his throat once more and stopped his circles. Guilt overwhelmed him. He should not be here with this victim, with Melissa. Straus would have his ass, he knew, for letting the team leave San Diego without him. Not to even mention the paperwork that would be piled on his desk by the time he returned.

“Melissa,” Aaron said with a sigh, “I intend to keep you safe, I do. I just—I can’t stay here much longer. I have to get back to Virginia. I have to get back to—“

“Your family,” Melissa finished the sentence for him.

Aaron nodded his head, frowning. “I’ve found a place for you to stay. They take in women survivors and help them overcome their trauma. I’ve already talked to the director and she has agreed to take you. You’ll be safe there. It’s a gated community of women who have been through similar situations as you. What do you think?”

Melissa looked away from him. Of course he had to return to his family, his wife, his job. She knew this was coming. She just hadn’t spent much time preparing for it. She could feel her eyes well up as she once more envisioned a dark future.

Aaron hated the face she was making and yearned to once more see her smile, but he knew this needed to be done. He knew he had accidently created a bond between them when he had promised her he’d stay with her. Some degree of him regretted it, and yet the other part of him wanted to help her back on her feet. He had seen the strength in her eyes back in that house, he knew if she set her mind to it, she could recover. In fact, it dawned on him that Melissa reminded him of Haley. He shook that thought away. Haley had died almost three years ago now but his heart still cried for her, and right now he needed to be strong.

“Is there somewhere else you could stay, if you don’t like that idea?” Aaron asked, though he already knew the answer.

While on the hunt for Eric, they had used Melissa as a starting point, asking the questions: Why this girl? Why the change in victimology? What made her special? They had found that Eric chose Melissa because of her resemblance to an ex-girlfriend and that no one would be looking for her. Her family, they had found, had all died in a car accident when she was a small child. From then she had been adopted into a family but showed signs of never truly fitting in. She left the family as soon as she turned eighteen and traveled the United States for years, never settling down too long in one spot. We all knew it to be complete chance that led Eric to Melissa on hwy 101 that fateful night.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Melissa whispered.

“I know,” Aaron whispered back. His eyes pleaded with her, “but this place will help you. Can you give it a chance, just like you gave me a chance?”

Slowly, her eyes met his and she nodded.

The next day Aaron wheeled Melissa out of the hospital, still wearing the same suit he had worn when they first met, though at some point he must have taken a shower because he seemed cleaner and happier when she woke up that morning. The doctor had given her a boot for her ankle and told her to take it easy the next few weeks. The local police office gave them a ride to the community for “survivors” as Aaron had called it. Melissa didn’t feel that the word survivor fit her very much, but she didn’t argue.

As they drove through the iron gates, Melissa couldn’t help but think the gates were meant to keep the “survivors” in. Despite this thought, the community was nice. Trailer homes lined up in rows, each with a personality to it. Some had wind chimes, others had succulents. At one point they passed the community pool.

Aaron watched as Melissa looked around. A small smile was on her lips, and it made his heart light. Maybe she would be happy here. He couldn’t fathom the life she had led the last few years of her life, traveling from place to place. Sure the BAU traveled a lot, but they were always able to come back home. Melissa, he thought, had never considered any place home.

“So?” he smiled, “do you think you could live here?”

She turned to him, about to reply, then stopped, her mouth hanging open. She smiled back at him and whispered, “You have dimples when you smile.”

Aaron felt his face grow hot and he looked away from her, afraid she’d notice his embarrassment. He cleared his throat, “here’s the main office.”

Melissa followed his gaze and saw a woman standing outside of the office building. She was dressed in business attire, unaware of their car as she typed furiously on her phone. Immediately Melissa felt the urge to jump out of the car and run.

Aaron looked at her across the seat. She looked scared and unsure, and he wanted to reach out to her. Instead he said, “Everything’s gonna be alright. I’m right beside you, okay?” Melissa’s eyes searched his but he wasn’t sure if she had found the courage she was looking for. When she only nodded, Aaron frowned. He could practically see her retreating into her own head. She had been through a lot after all, and he understood why she would hesitate before trusting another person. “Come on,” he said softly before exiting the car.

Melissa remained quiet while Aaron set up her living arrangements with the business woman, as they toured the property, and as they walked into the trailer that would be hers for as long as she wanted it. She had only half listened while the business woman talked on and on about the different amenities and features of the community. The rent was much too high, and did she hear something about the government paying for her first six months? Oh well. Melissa didn’t care to hear the details. She knew she wouldn’t stay in the place for long. Eric would find her.

“You didn’t say much during the tour,” Aaron said as he sat down in the furnished trailer that was now Melissa’s. The business woman had left a few minutes ago and still Melissa hadn’t spoken. Her mind was obviously elsewhere.

Melissa blinked a couple times, seeming to focus on him for the first time since they arrived. She opened her mouth to respond but then shut it. Slowly she approached the couch and sat on the other side. She made sure not to get too close to Aaron. “Sorry, I was… um…” Silence engulfed them, and Melissa cursed herself for her awkwardness.

“You don’t have to explain, Melissa. I just want to know if you can see yourself living here.”

Melissa shrugged, then replied, “I’ve lived in a lot of places, I’m not that picky.”

Aaron rested his arm on the top of the couch. “Where all have you been?” In the back of his head Aaron could have recalled all he knew of her travels from when the profiled her as a victim, but he didn’t want to simply recall the information, he wanted to hear it from her.

A small smile crept onto her face. “Well, I’ve been all over the States, and probably have been on every major highway in the country. I’m somewhat of a Nomad, I guess.”

Aaron smiled back, “I know what you mean. Sometimes the team and I are moving around so much I feel like a Nomad myself. But we always go home to Virginia, so I guess the title doesn’t exactly fit on me.”

Melissa frowned. “I’ve never had a home.”

“Not even where you grew up?”

“No. I feel like a home is someplace you want to be for more than a few months. I’ve just never felt that.”

“You don’t settle into a place and make friends?”

She shrugged. “I make sure to always keep only the belongings that fit in my bag. If it is too big for my bag, I don’t keep it.”

Aaron couldn’t help but notice she avoided the topic of friends. He pursed his lips, unsure if he could push her farther. “And friends?”

“Sure, sure, friends are easy to make, I guess.”

“Is there anyone you want to call then? You can use my phone.”

She shifted uncomfortably, “Oh, no, it’s okay. I mean, I can make friends pretty easily, it’s just that I don’t want to bother any of them. They have their own lives, you know? They don’t need to hear my sob story.”

He could see the tears well up in her eyes and immediately regretted pushing her. She had a long way to go before she healed from her trauma, and Aaron knew well enough that those who were friends before a trauma may not be friends after one. He felt sorry too for Melissa. She hadn’t asked for any of this.

He wished he could stay and help her—but as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he also wished he could take it back. The very feeling that Melissa had just described crept through his body. He wanted to stay with her, to help her, even though it would take months, maybe even years. But he knew he couldn’t. His home was in Virginia with Jack, with his team, and with Haley’s ghost.

Aaron checked his watch, reminding himself that his flight would leave in two and a half hours. Melissa noticed. Sadness overwhelmed her as she realized that this man had duties elsewhere and she was keeping him from them. Mustering up a tiny bit of courage, she put on a brave face and stood up.

“I’m sorry, Aaron, I’m keeping you from getting home. I’m sure your wife is worried sick about you and misses you very much. You should go. Yes. I—“ She paused, her heart heavy, “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’m . . . I’m extremely grateful.”

As much as Aaron wanted to correct her, tell her that he didn’t have a wife and that he didn’t need to leave so soon, something stopped him. It was for the best perhaps. He could not stay here. He stood up and offered his business card to her saying, “If you ever need anything Melissa, do not hesitate to call me.”

She looked at the card. It was exactly how one would expect a business card to look: rectangular, white, and impersonal. Putting the card into her back pocket, she tried to smile at Aaron, but found herself avoiding those brown eyes because she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears.

Inwardly she growled at herself. She had met this man yesterday—yesterday—and yet she didn’t want him to go. She wanted to keep the feeling Aaron brought into her life: safety. It was a strange sensation, wanting someone to stick around.

Aaron was watching her, she knew, so she stuffed those feelings down and walked him to the door.

“I mean it, Melissa,” Aaron said as he stood on the front step, “if you need anything call. I’ll call too, to check up on you once in a while. And maybe,” Aaron paused, alarms going off in his head. “Maybe I can come visit too.”

Melissa held the door tightly, trying to keep her composure. She gave him a small, pitiful smile replying, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Aaron.” Then she shut the door


	5. Chapter 5

A month later, Aaron received a bill from the community where Melissa lived. What he had told the landlord had been partially true, the FBI was paying for Melissa’s rent, he just hadn’t mentioned that it was coming out of the BAU’s Unit Chief’s pocket. When he received it in the mail, he wasn’t surprised really—in fact he had spent the last 30 days unable to get Melissa out of his head—but he was caught off guard. Garcia had handed him the mail while he had been lightly chatting with the rest of the team. When he saw the address, it took all his willpower to remain calm and collected. Soon after he excused himself and shut the door to his office.

 _I should call her,_ he thought, _just to see how she’s doing._ As soon as he had picked up the phone, he heard Strauss’ voice in his head. She had really gone after him for remaining with the victim longer than what _she_ deemed necessary. Of course he argued that he was only doing his duty, but she insinuated otherwise; that had made him angry. But of course, Strauss was his superior and he had already pushed it as it was, so he had assured her it wouldn’t happen again.

He placed the phone back on the receiver.

Another month passed and Aaron once more frowned at the bill in front of him. It was easy to push her face to the back of his mind while at work and busy on cases around the United States. Within the two months since he’d seen Melissa they had worked a number of cases, and frankly Aaron was glad for the distraction.

Before he could contemplate once more if he should call Melissa, his phone rings. Picking it up quickly, he realizes some part of him wants it to be her, but the voice that came through the phone was certainly a man’s.

“Agent Hotchner, I’m the lead detective in San Diego, you helped us about two months ago, do you remember?”

Aaron froze, it was the main detective on Melissa’s case. Had Eric returned? Unfortunately, Eric’s case had been put aside to make room for more active cases. “Yes, I remember you, is it Eric Newman, have you found him? What about Melissa, is she okay?”

“Oh, no, sorry Agent Hotchner, I don’t know anything new about Eric Newman at this moment. I am calling you about a different matter. I have two dead, one in Los Angeles and one in San Diego. They were killed at the same time last night and I need your team.”

“Killed at the same time? I’ll admit that is a coincidence, but how do you know the two deaths are connected?” Aaron’s brow furrowed.

“Well, no not at the same time, sorry. Killed within 3 hours apart. But, Agent Hotchner, both were chained to a car and dragged to death.”

Aaron frowned and looked at his watch. “Send me everything you have. My team and I will be there as soon as possible.”

On the plane ride, Aaron couldn’t help but think of Melissa. He’d be in her city, he could go visit her, see how she was doing, catch up on any leads the Detective had on Eric’s case. Perhaps he had decided Melissa wasn’t worth his effort or perhaps they had gotten lucky and he had died somehow. Aaron frowned to himself. He knew he was grasping at straws, but he couldn’t help it. The image of Melissa’s bare, beaten body still plagued him.

Rossi sat down across from him, leaving Reid and Morgan to their poker game.

“So, San Diego,” Rossi smirked knowingly.

Frowning deeper, if that was even possible, Aaron replied, “not helpful, Dave.”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything, Aaron. I guess I’m just wondering if you’d like to, you know, take some of my vacation days off my hands. You could go to the beach, relax a little?”

Aaron’s shoulders slumped, “you know I can’t.”

“Aaron,” Rossi leaned closer, whispering now, “When Haley died, what got you through it?”

“Having you and the team, supporting me.”

“Exactly, and right now, there’s a woman out there dealing with that type of trauma, alone. Who better to be there for her than you?”

“A therapist, for one.”

Dave leaned back into the seat, “if the FBI hadn’t forced you to see a therapist after Haley, would you have gone?”

When Aaron didn’t answer, Rossi nodded and said, “Think about it, Aaron. We can make it happen with the least amount of fan-fare.”

Dave’s offer resounded in Aaron’s mind until he resolved to focus on the case, and only the case. They knew they were after a spree killer, so they needed all hands on deck.


	6. Chapter 6

As the team packed up from the LAPD field office, the mood felt heavy. They hadn’t caught the unsubs, though at least one psychopath was dead, so there was that. Putting away the files, Aaron felt Dave come up behind him. 

“Aaron, I think I might stay here for a little bit.”

Aaron turned, confused. Hadn’t Dave said _he_ should stay in San Diego?

“Well, I think we should both stay.” Dave sat casually on the table where the files had just been. “Look, I was thinking, Darlene hadn’t unpacked her daughter’s suitcase yet for their trip to Mexico. What if, Darlene and Ellen decided to still go on the trip?”

“That being so, Dave, it is out of our jurisdiction. There’s nothing we can do.”

“And that’s why I was thinking of staying here. I could take six of my vacation days and follow them down to Mexico. There I could alert the authorities and send them back across the border.”

“It is a good plan,” Aaron crossed his arms, thinking how he might fit into all of this.

“As for you, take a few of my days, a gift. We don’t have another pending case right now, and the paperwork could be scanned to you. You can even be down in San Diego to apprehend Darlene and Ellen when I get them. Then, after my 6 days are up, we can return to the BAU together.”

It was hard to say no to Dave’s logic. Strauss couldn’t find any fault with him staying in San Diego if he were there with Dave and helping the SDPD. Also, if he took Dave’s vacation days, Strauss wouldn’t have any say in what he did anyway.

Aaron wanted to say yes, Rossi could feel it, but excuse after excuse played in Aaron’s mind. Jack being one of them. Jack needed him home, not away in San Diego for a week.

As if reading his mind, Rossi replied, “I’m sure Jack won’t mind spending a little more time with his cousins. And when we get back, we can make it up to him.”

Silence engulfed the two friends, until Aaron finally let out a sigh, agreeing to the arrangement.

As Aaron pulled up to Melissa’s trailer home within the community, his heart pounded loudly. He had called to let her know he was coming but hadn’t received any calls back. Parking in the driveway, he could see the sun just going down over the mountains. Most other homes had their lights on, but Melissa’s was dark. Aaron frowned, perhaps she wasn’t here.

Walking up to the door, he knocked loudly. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing. He fidgeted in his suit, not having time to change out of it. Cupping his face to the window, he saw the living room. It looked exactly the way it had when he had brought her here. There were no personal touches, no keepsakes, nothing.

Grabbing his go-bag, Aaron decided to change his suit jacket for a more comfortable hoodie, as the night was getting chilly. He waited in front of her house for an hour, calling once or twice, before he couldn’t take it anymore and walked to the main office.

The Community landlord would know where Melissa had gone to, since the main draw of the place was to help trauma survivors by providing therapy, check-ins, and anything else someone might need in order to grow past their experiences. It was still an experimental theory at best, but the community had its merits.

Opening the door to the main office, Aaron noticed a young lady at the desk. No doubt the landlord had gone home, but perhaps he could still get some help.

Showing off his credentials, Aaron said, “Hi, I’m with the FBI and I was looking for one of your residents, Melissa Thompson, would you know where I could find her?”

The young woman’s eyes grew large while looking at his FBI badge, but she remembered herself and quickly started typing in the computer.

“Hmm, Melissa Thompson?” She typed some more. “I see we have record that she did, in fact, live here, but she hasn’t been seen for the past month.”

Aaron was struck dumb. _She hasn’t been seen for the past month?_ He could hear his voice get deeper, “What do you mean she hasn’t been seen?”

“Well, sir,” she cleared her throat, “the residents here are free to come and go as they please as long as they check-in with their security card. No one can get in without it. So the last record we have of Melissa leaving the facility was, umm,” she looked at her computer for confirmation, “October 14.”

His mind spun. October 14. 4 weeks. She had stayed here for 4 weeks—one pay period—then one day, just never returned. He flexed his fists. Had Eric taken her? Had he waited for her to exit and snatched her? Had she simply just run away? Before becoming a victim, she had led a transient lifestyle, it was possible that she had packed up her stuff and caught a ride out of the city.

Aaron couldn’t believe it, and yet, if he had been paying attention, perhaps he could have guessed this would happen. He should have called sooner. He should have checked-in. He had promised her she would remain safe.

“Sir?”

Aaron refocused on her, unsure what other news she would bring.

“Sir, um, all of our residents are provided with a pre-paid bus pass. It, it does track which bus they used and when, if that is something that would be helpful to you.”

A bus pass. Yes, Aaron remembered now, it was part of one of their programs. The residents would be provided with a bus pass so that they would be able to go and apply for jobs out in the area. Without saying anything to her, Aaron pulled his cell phone out and hit Garcia’s speed dial.

“Sir?” Garcia sounded tired, but Aaron spoke anyways.

“Garcia, I need you to trace a San Diego bus pass for me,” Aaron looked expectantly at the young lady, telling her with his eyes that she needed to pull up the bus pass number.

Flustered, she scrambled for the number, but then recited it to Garcia.

“Sir, I…we just got off the plane and I don’t have my computers up yet—“

“Right now, Garcia. And keep this between us, please.”

“Oh, okay, let me just, find a place to sit down.”

Aaron knew that his worry was making him a pain in the ass to the people around him, but he didn’t care. Best case scenario, Melissa had just moved to a different city and had gotten settled there. Worst case scenario….well, he didn’t want to think about that.

“Garcia?”

“Yes, sir, I’m pulling up the number as we speak, and it looks like, uh, it looks like the last time it was used was October 14.”

“Where did she go?”

“Um, she? Sir? I—“

“Just tell me the last stop recorded on the card.”

“Um, stop number 3 on the corner of Sassafras and Hwy 5, sir.”

“Thanks, Garcia,” Aaron said as he hung up.

Without saying goodbye to the young lady, he walked quickly to his car and drove away.

Driving around the area of stop number 3, the first thing he noticed was the homeless population. Underneath the highway bridges people slept on blankets surrounded by trash and grocery carts filled with supplies. The only lead he had was this bus stop, so he parked his car nearby and began walking the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, thank you for reading this! I was scared actually of posting my work. This is my first fanfiction work that has caught so much attention! I usually work in obscure fanfictions (check my others out if you wish!). 
> 
> I appreciate all comments and kudos! :) You guys are great!


	7. Chapter 7

Aaron cursed himself when he realized the only picture he had of Melissa was on his phone from two months ago. They had used it as a way to ask witnesses if they had seen her. He liked the photo, actually, and hadn’t had the heart to delete it yet. The photo showed her before Eric had done his damage. She had a smile on her face, backpack strung to her back, holding her thumb up for a ride on some highway. Garcia had found it on a blog written by an old friend of Melissa’s. When they had called to see if this friend could give them any information on Melissa’s whereabouts, they had learned the friend, at the young age of 18, had suddenly died of a stroke.

Holding the picture up to random people, Aaron asked if anyone had seen her. A lot of people looked at the photo, but shook their heads no. Some ignored him completely. The prostitutes looked at the photo, but also asked him if he’d be willing to pay for their services. His frown eventually bored them and they walked away.

Looking at his watch, Aaron felt his body tire. 2 a.m., and nothing had been accomplished. He had known San Diego’s homeless population was one of the top in the United States, but searching through the faces had drained him. Most of them hadn’t eaten well in a while, or taken a shower. It wasn’t that this revolted him though. Instead, he couldn’t help but think what Melissa might look like now, living like this—if she were truly here that is.

Feeling defeated, he found a bench under a light post, and sat down heavily. He placed his head in his hands. He should have called sooner. He should have checked in on her. He shouldn’t have left her. Then a dark thought crept in: why do you even care?

He played around with that thought for a second. Why did he care? He had met the girl once, after she had been beaten and bruised. Was it the pity? Perhaps. Was it that she had made him feel special by trusting him and only him? How selfish.

“Hey,” a crackly voice came from the bushes behind Aaron. “This is my area, everyone knows that. T…take your troubles elsewhere. Leave or I’ll… make you leave. I…I have a knife.”

Aaron turned around, curiosity getting the better of him. The threat hadn’t meant much, and he doubted the voice had ever actually won a fight, seeing as their spot was pretty well hidden in the bushes.

His heart practically stopped when he saw the blue eyes that stared back at him. He’d recognize those eyes anywhere, despite the grime and dirt covering Melissa’s face.

She hesitated, but he could see recognition flash past her eyes as well. “A…Aaron?”

Standing up, he walked closer to the bushes, and then leaned down to see into her hiding space. She crouched like an animal, guarding a torn-up blanket on the ground. You could tell she spent a lot of time here, a month he guessed.

She spoke again, her voice a whisper, “are you real?”

Confused Aaron’s brows furrowed. “Of course I’m real, Melissa. Come on, let’s get you out of that bush.” He extended his hand to her, exactly like he had the day she sat in the corner, threatening him with a gun.

Instead of taking his hand, Melissa practically leapt into his arms. She smelled horribly, but Aaron wrapped his arms around her anyways. His frown deepened, however, when he felt her ribs underneath the dirty hoodie she wore.

Pulling back, he asked, “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you return to the community?”

“I…I didn’t like it there, Aaron. It was too … exposed. He…he could’ve found out I was there and…” Her whole body tensed as the memories flooded through her.

“Hey,” Aaron tipped her head back so that she would look at him. He saw small scars in different stages of healing on her face. He frowned, “I made a promise, remember, you’ll be safe with me.”

After searching his eyes, she buried her face into his chest. She believed him.

“Let’s go back to the community, okay? Get you a nice warm shower?”

Melissa looked at her bush, unsure if she should give it up. It was a nice bush, despite the thorns. She had found no one would mess with her as long as she had those thorns surrounding her, though her clothes and skin didn’t fare well. After some time, she looked back at Aaron and nodded, she would go back with him.

It was 4 a.m. by the time they walked in the door of Melissa’s trailer home. Aaron found that he was right in his earlier assessment. Nothing had changed since he had left her here 2 months ago. As they walked into the bathroom, Aaron saw the cheapest bottle of shampoo/conditioner combination and an unused, hotel-sized bar of soap. That was it. There were towels in the cabinet and he handed one to Melissa.

“I’ll make up the couch to sleep on,” Aaron said as he shut the door, leaving her to her first shower in a month. The couch didn’t pull out into a bed, but Aaron didn’t mind. He hadn’t planned on spending the night at her place, but then again, none of this night went as planned. Finding a blanket, he spread it across the couch, then ventured into Melissa’s room for an extra pillow.

When he returned to the living room, Melissa stood there, hair dripping, towel wrapped around her body. She shifted uncomfortably. “I…I don’t have any clothes.” Aaron quickly nodded and told her to hold on a moment. He walked out the door, opened the trunk of his rental car, and pulled out his go bag. When he came back in, he handed her a white dress shirt and some boxers. It wasn’t much, but it would work till they could go shopping.

Melissa took the clothes back into the bathroom and came out moments later. Aaron was sure his heart stopped this time as he stared at this beautiful young woman wearing his underwear and work shirt. He shifted, feeling his blood run hot. He tried not to focus on the way he could see her nipples through the shirt. He tried to ignore the pulsing in his pants. _Wow,_ he thought _, it really has been a while since I . . ._ he stopped the thought immediately. He was here to protect and help Melissa, not think about how he wanted to . . .

Aaron cleared his throat and began to speak, “We should probably head to bed now, and tomorrow, let’s buy you some new clothes.”

Melissa walked hesitantly to the couch and sat down. Aaron forced himself to remain calm as she got closer to him. Then she spoke, “I don’t have any money.”

“I know, I can buy them.”

She frowned. “You shouldn’t spend your money on me. I was hoping after I didn’t come back here they would stop charging you.”

He was surprised really, to know she had found out he was paying her rent—not even the landlord had guessed that. “Yes, well, I promised I’d look after you.”

Her frown deepened. “I remember every promise you gave me, Aaron, and looking after me wasn’t one of them. Protecting me, sure, but not ‘looking after me.’”

“Oh, did I not?” His sleepiness was getting the better of him. It had been 72 hours with no sleep.

Rising from the couch, Melissa grabbed Aaron’s hand and began to pull him to the bedroom. Immediately Aaron tensed and pulled his hand out of Melissa’s.

“Melissa, we shouldn’t…” He stood up and began to pace, unable to stay still. “I mean, don’t get me wrong you are really attractive…I just—“

Melissa’s eyes grew wide and she stepped back, shocked. “I… I wasn’t going to, you know. I just was going to let you sleep in the bedroom. You deserve it more than I do, and, anyways, I don’t sleep in there.”

Aaron stopped pacing. “You don’t sleep in there?”

“No,” she wrapped herself with her arms, trying to make herself small. Aaron hated to see her shrink like that. She continued, “That’s how he took me, the first time. I was sleeping, in a bed.” Aaron knew that, and he kicked himself for forgetting. “So I sleep in different places every night now. Well I guess I slept in my bush pretty often,” she shrugged, “though sleeping by the ocean was a favorite of mine.”

“Melissa, I’m sorry that I assumed you were—“

“It’s okay. And thanks…for the compliment.”

Aaron smirked, at least he hadn’t offended her completely.

“Come on, I’ll tuck you in,” Melissa giggled.

The mood was light, and Aaron found himself wishing he _was_ following her to the bedroom for another reason. After her shower, she seemed, better, he thought. More herself? Aaron wasn’t sure if those were the words, after all, he barely knew her.

“Have a good night, Aaron, if you need me, I’ll be sleeping in the guest bedroom’s closet.”

“The closest?” he mumbled as his eyes began to close.

Melissa looked at him with a smile on her face. She knew she shouldn’t watch him sleep, but she couldn’t help it. How many nights had she spent wishing he were there? How many nights did she dream of this sleeping face next to her? And here he was, in her unused bed, in the trailer he had rented for her. _Was this man an angel or what?_ She laughed at herself. Slowly, she reached to touch his cheek, but stopped short.

Melissa felt a darkness settle over her. SSA Aaron Hotchner wouldn’t be able to stay. He had a job, a life, and a family in Virginia, and when he left, things would be just the same as when he left the first time.

After she had shut the door on him, she had tried, really tried to get her life together. But no matter how hard she tried, she kept failing. No job would keep her since she always called in sick, too scared to go outside. Her therapist tried to reach her, but she remained as closed as a clam. Even the landlord tried to help her meet other residents, people who’d “gone through the same thing as you did.” But even they didn’t understand her constant fear. Some of the girls had been raped, just like she had, but their attackers were either dead or in jail.

He was still out there. She could feel it. And he’d come for her eventually. She knew in her heart should could not stay here, in this community that tried so hard for their residents but were at a loss when their residents couldn’t defeat their demons. And when He came for her, she didn’t want Aaron in the crossfire.

 _It would have been better for him to have stayed away,_ she thought.

Frowning, she dared to brush his cheek lightly, but then quickly turned off the lamp and left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Aaron woke up to the sound of screaming. He jumped out of bed and ran into the living room. No one was there, but the screaming still persisted. Following it into the guest bedroom, he opened the door of the closet to see Melissa sitting up, panting.

Sweat fell from her forehead and her eyes looked around frantically.

“Melissa, hey, it’s Aaron,” he said as he kneeled down to her level. The closet held just enough room for her, her blanket, and her pillow. “It was a dream, Melissa.”

Melissa nodded and focused on slowing her breath. The dream had just been so real. _He_ was there. _He_ had been touching her. She shivered and tried not to think about it.

The room was filled with light, dawn having come and gone. Melissa looked to Aaron, saw the worry on his face, and waved him away. Hadn’t she had these dreams every night? When she screamed within the homeless community, everyone had backed away from her, assuming she wasn’t right in the head. And maybe they were right.

Aaron sat cross-legged, watching her try and calm herself. Then, almost at the same time, they both looked at Aaron’s bare legs. At some point in the night, he must have shook off his pants and sweatshirt because he was now solely in a white t-shirt and boxers.

Melissa smirked at his bare legs and crazy head of hair, which stuck up every which way. She guessed that meant he had slept well—until she had woken him at least. He looked so different from the serious-faced FBI agent who had saved her that night.

Quickly she looked around and Aaron gave her a confused frown.

“I’m sorry, I seem to have lost Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Have you seen him anywhere? I could have sworn he was here just last night.”

Aaron let out a small laugh and rolled his eyes. He liked the fact that she were able to laugh at his disheveled look. It meant she was healing, though he couldn’t help but wonder when she had last laughed. Dave’s words on the plane had come back to him then. Aaron had the support of the team after the death of Haley to help him heal. Did she have anyone like that? Anyone at all to turn to?

Melissa watched as Aaron’s smirk slowly turned into a frown. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but she had a pretty good idea that the look in his eyes was pity. She frowned as well. So much for her joke, it had lasted like what, a minute? She realized then that that joke had been her first joke for months. Before… _him_ , she had always loved making people laugh. After everything had happened though, she hadn’t much thought of laughter or smiles. Life was just too hard right now.

“Come on,” Aaron had said as he stood up, “let’s get some breakfast, and then I believe I promised you a shopping trip.”

He smirked once more and Melissa felt her heart swell.

As Aaron helped her stand, he noticed the long cuts on her arms, some older than others. These weren’t like the small cuts on her face from the thorns. No, these were intentional.

Fear quickly replaced any happiness Melissa had just felt, for the look on Aaron’s face was pure anger. 

“What are these, Melissa?”

Stepping back, Melissa tried to take her arms out of his grasp, but he held on too tightly.

“Answer me, Melissa.”

“Aaron, please, let go, you’re…you’re hurting me.”

Slowly, Aaron released her arms, feeling somewhat guilty for scaring her. He stepped back, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. But those scars, they burned under his eyelids. He wanted to break something. He began to pace, running a hand through his hair. He couldn’t believe the anger that raged through him. How could she do this to herself? She…she could have killed herself. And perhaps that was her original intention. He flexed his hands into fists. How could she have done this?

When he finally looked back towards Melissa, he saw that she had retreated back into the closet and was watching him closely. Her eyes darted from him to the door, and Aaron saw the small tremble in her hands.

Immediately his anger vanished and he knew he hadn’t been mad at her. No, he couldn’t be mad at her for none of this was her fault. It was Eric’s. Eric Newman had come into this girl’s life and destroyed it. He had scarred her more than just physically, and Aaron knew he could not blame Melissa for dealing with that emotional turmoil in the only way she knew how. In fact, if he was going to blame someone, he should be blaming himself.

Yes, he let this happen. He knew all too well the pain that came with feeling unsafe in your home. He knew all too well the fear of your attacker running around the world, unchecked. He knew self-harm was prevalent in victims, though every victim dealt with their pain and recovery differently. He knew all of these things, yet he had left her. Hell, he didn’t just know about these things, he saw them all the time in his line of work, but that hadn’t stopped him from leaving. That knowledge hadn’t kept him from keeping his distance the past two months, and he hated himself for it.

Defeated, Aaron sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Melissa still looked like a deer in headlights, and that was his fault too. With a huff, Aaron sat on the edge of the guest bed and held his head in his hands.

“Melissa, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lost my temper.” She didn’t respond. “Will you forgive me?”

Confusion flicked in Melissa’s eyes. She didn’t have much experience with apologies. Growing up, her family hadn’t ever said sorry for anything, it was one of the reasons why she left as soon as she turned 18. And here this man was, looking as if he would die if she didn’t accept his apology. He was a strange one indeed, she thought.

She approached him slowly, then sat down on the bed next to him. Aaron kept still, afraid he would startle her, but couldn’t help looking down at her wrists once more.

“I forgive you, Aaron,” she whispered while rubbing one of the scabbed lines.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Melissa raised an eyebrow, then smirked, “my scars or your anger issues?”

Aaron’s eyebrows deepened in disapproval.

Melissa sighed, her smirk gone. It was worth a shot, she thought. “I…I don’t want to talk about it.”

Disappointed, Aaron frowned. Nothing would heal if she kept it bottled in, and yet he knew he shouldn’t push her. And so, taking one long deep breath in, Aaron stood up, offered her his hand, and said, “I believe we were about to get some breakfast.”


	9. Chapter 9

Melissa took his hand once more and allowed herself a small smile. She was grateful that Aaron hadn’t pushed her into talking about her scars. It was a feeling she didn’t want to deal with at the moment. She wanted to enjoy her time with him, however limited it may be.

Following Aaron to the kitchen, Melissa sat down on the island stool and placed her elbows on the granite. She wasn’t sure how to tell him that she wasn’t hungry, or, more accurately, not used to eating anymore. On the streets she only eat when she found something in the trash, but she generally didn’t have much luck. One time she found a half-eaten bagel—with cream cheese—that had been a treat.

“Right,” Aaron said as he also leaned on the island. “What do you want me to order?”

“Um, I don’t really know. It’s been a while,” she cleared her throat, “since I’ve been able to order food. Years, actually.”

“Well, if you could have anything to eat, what would it be?”

Aaron smiled as Melissa tilted her head in thought. He was glad he could give her some happiness in life.

“Hmm,” Melissa hummed, “Chocolate Chip Pancakes.”

“Chocolate Chip Pancakes it is!”

Melissa giggled at his enthusiasm, and it was then that Melissa realized that Aaron Hotchner reminded her of her dad, before he had died. Pushing the thought away, Melissa cleared her throat and asked, “You’re a dad, aren’t you?”

Aaron looked up from ordering IHOP on DoorDash and answered, “I am. I have a son named Jack. He’s eight.”

Melissa shifted in her chair, not meeting his eyes, “and your wife? Why aren’t you with them right now?” She had been dying to ask the question ever since he returned. Surely his wife was wondering why he was in San Diego with another woman?

“She died, three years ago.”

Aaron watched Melissa’s eyes grow in surprise, she clearly hadn’t been expecting that answer.

“I…I’m sorry, Aaron.”

“It’s okay” he replied, going back to his DoorDash order.

Awkward silence engulfed them and Melissa was acutely aware of how much they were strangers. There was so much she didn’t know about SSA Aaron Hotchner, and although she wanted to remedy this, she held herself back. It was easy, she thought, being with Aaron, pretending they had been friends for years.

She tried to imagine what that would have been like, knowing him before she had been attacked. She had left home at 18 with nothing but a backpack, clothes, and a couple of dollars. If her judgement was correct, Aaron would have been in his 30s at the time.

Unable to suppress it, Melissa let out a scoff, and this led Aaron to looking up once more from his phone. He gave her a questioning look.

Melissa blushed, she hadn’t meant to make noise, and she most certainly wasn’t planning to explain that she was thinking about their age difference.

Aaron still watched her, amused at the red filling her cheeks. She was adorable when she blushed. Fidgeting, Aaron felt his face flush as well. He hadn’t meant for the thought to appear, it just had. He made a mental note to be more careful in the future.

“Alright, food’s ordered, and should be here in the next thirty minutes,” he said, slipping back into the stone face he wore at work. After all, he needed to stay professional. “Would you mind if I took a shower?”

Melissa shook her head in reply and watched as Aaron walked toward the bathroom. She couldn’t help but look at his bare legs once more. The back of his thighs were pale, hairy, and…muscular, which surprised her, she hadn’t ever noticed how attractive a man’s thighs could be. Once more she scoffed at herself, but thankfully this time Aaron wouldn’t catch her blushing.

* * *

After 72 hours without a shower, Aaron let out a sigh as the water ran over him. He tried to focus on the feeling of the water, rather than the anxiety-filled thoughts he was so often consumed by. But there was too much to think about and it was hard to think clearly around Melissa. She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny that. And so strong. In the wake of learning of her self-harm, Aaron had forgotten that Melissa had joked with him. This girl who had been through so much, had joked about his disheveled look. This girl who had just woken up screaming, still found time to smile. He couldn’t help but like that about her. And the way she looked in his clothes . . . _fuck_.

Turning the water to cold, Aaron let it wake him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t felt this way about someone since Haley, and that scared him. Taking deep breaths, Aaron told himself to remain professional. She was a victim. He was an FBI agent who had worked her case. She was hurting, despite the smiles and laughs. He was walking a dangerous line between helping her and taking advantage of her trust. She was a young woman of 26, her whole life ahead of her. He was a widower at the dusty age of 41, and with a kid at that. In fact, he shouldn’t even be thinking about these things! He had come here to check up on her—a federal agent looking after a victim—no other reason.

Turning off the water, Aaron stepped out and wrapped himself with a towel. _Shit_ , he thought as he realized he didn’t have any other clothes. Maybe he could just sneak past Melissa and get his clothes from yesterday?

Peaking his head out of the door, he looked around for her. He couldn’t see the whole kitchen or living room, but so far the coast was clear. A small voice in his head laughed at him. Had Melissa not come out in her towel just last night? He shook the image away, not wanting to dwell on it. Quietly he stepped into the hallway, watching the kitchen to make sure she couldn’t see hi—

“Umm, what are you doing?”

Aaron jumped back so fast he almost lost his hold on the towel. “Fuck, Melissa, did you have to scare me like that?” He watched as her eyes flicked over his body, and he adjusted his towel once more.

Melissa crossed her arms, meeting his eyes, “you’d think for an FBI agent you wouldn’t be so jumpy.”

Standing up taller, Aaron adjusted himself, falling into the persona of SSA Aaron Hotchner. “Yes, well, I just needed my clothes from the bedroom. What are you doing in the hallway anyways?”

“Oh, um,” she fidgeted, “the food’s here.”

Aaron’s eyebrows lowered. What did the food have to do with her standing in the hallway?

Melissa sighed, realizing he didn’t understand. “I don’t want to go near the door. What if…what if he is watching?”

Aaron felt a rush of guilt. Here he was thinking of himself while she was still scared in her own home. “Hey, Melissa, look at me.”

Her blue eyes met his.

“You’re safe with me, remember?”

Melissa nodded, unsure what to say.

“I’ll just put on some clothes and we can eat, okay?”

Once more she nodded, but a few seconds after, Aaron saw a smirk creep across her face. “Were you really scared of _me_?”

Rolling his eyes, Aaron couldn’t stop his own smirk from appearing. _Damn this woman_.


	10. Chapter 10

Changing his clothes quickly, Aaron met Melissa back out in the hallway. She remained where she was as he walked to the front door, grabbed the food and then shut it. It was a simple thing, but he knew her fear made it out to be worse than it really was.

As he unpacked the food, Melissa walked into the kitchen. “Chocolate Chip Pancakes, as ordered,” he said lightly.

She smiled at the tone in his voice, and was thankful he hadn’t pushed her to go to the door. Looking up from the food, Aaron saw the genuine smile on her face, and his heart leapt. To distract himself, he started talking, “So are you still up for a shopping trip today? I mean it’s,” he checked his watch, “three in the afternoon.”

Melissa sat down and smelled the food. _God,_ she thought, _when was the last time I had anything close to this?_ Aaron handed her the Styrofoam box filled with at least 4 giant chocolate chip pancakes, a fork, and a small jug of milk. He was about to keep talking but stopped short, Melissa was looking at him with…awe, and he couldn’t help but stare back. No one, save Jack and Haley, had looked at him with such admiration.

“What?” Aaron asked before he could stop himself.

“Thank you, truly. You…you didn’t have to do any of this.”

Aaron’s mouth became dry. He knew she wasn’t just thanking him for the food. He had paid two months of rent for her. He had stayed in San Diego for her. He had searched blocks and blocks in the dead of night for her. He had ordered her food, yes, but he had done a lot more than that. He had done a lot more than what a typical agent would do for a victim.

“How long are you planning to stay?” Melissa asked, eyes downcast, breaking him out of his thoughts. He noticed she hadn’t started eating yet.

“I took six days off.”

“Oh,” Melissa said quietly. He hadn’t said that he’d stay those six days, only that he had them off. Melissa knew she shouldn’t be sad about that. He had already done so much for her, and she was grateful. It was probably for the best anyways.

“Well,” she started, “that’s probably for the best, because if you stayed longer, I’d probably get fat.” Melissa knew it was a bad joke as soon as it left her mouth and immediately regretted it. All she wanted to do was break the silence and see his smile again, but her joke definitely had the opposite effect. Instead, Aaron’s brown eyes darkened and his eyebrows furrowed.

“We should talk about why you left the community, Melissa.”

She sighed, SSA Aaron Hotchner was back to business. “Do we have to? Can’t we…can’t we just enjoy the food?”

Aaron regarded her for a moment, nodded, and then cut into his over-easy eggs. Melissa could see that he didn’t want to push the topic aside, but did so for her, and she was grateful. She didn’t want to dip into her fears again. She wanted to stay happy, and she was happy with Aaron here.

As she cut into the pancake, warm chocolate spread over her fork. As she brought it to her mouth, she savored every burst of flavor. Unconsciously she hummed with pleasure as she licked her fork clean.

Amused, Aaron watched her eat her pancakes, if eat was even the right word. “I can leave you two alone, if you want.”

Opening her eyes, Melissa blushed and then began to laugh. It was the sweetest sound Aaron had ever heard and he didn’t want it to stop. Before he knew it, he was laughing along with her, his heart swelling with happiness.

“Sorry,” Melissa said between giggles, “I just, I haven’t had this since I was a kid!”

“It’s no problem, Melissa. Did you get this a lot as a kid?”

“No actually. It was a special thing my dad used to make for me.”

“That’s nice of him, were you two close?”

“Thick as thieves,” Melissa smiled while taking another delicious bite. “He used to always say that.”

“You mentioned another one of his phrases when we first met. Something about ‘the road is filled with indecisive chickens.’”

Melissa scoffed, “yeah he had some weird ones.”

“What about your mom? Did she also like chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Nah, she always gave speeches about why he shouldn’t be feeding me this junk. But it was all out of love, she just wanted me to be healthy.”

“As all parents should,” Aaron said.

“Do you feed Jack unhealthy things sometimes?”

Aaron smiled, “he loves ice cream.”

“Who doesn’t?”

He chuckled, “I try my best to teach him how to be healthy.”

“You sound like a good dad.”

Aaron’s eyes locked with hers, “Thank you.”

Melissa smiled and took another bite of her pancakes.

For the next hour, they sat at the granite island, getting to know one another. Aaron enjoyed how light the conversation was. He didn’t get many easy moments, not in his line of work. Sure the team was a bright spot, and he did consider them family, though he wouldn’t admit that directly to them. But Aaron hadn’t quite realized how much he missed talking to another adult—albeit a very young adult—without worrying about the cases in his head.

As if reading his mind, Melissa asked, “Do you like your job? It seems like a hard job.”

Aaron’s eyebrows lowered, “It is hard a lot of the time. But I’ve had multiple chances to leave it, and I can’t seem to. It is who I am.”

“My dad always told me not to identify with my career. Like, he said I should enjoy it, but that I should be someone without it.”

“Good advice,” Aaron said dryly.

“Do you disagree?”

He sighed, “I think it’s easier said than done. This job has taken a lot from me. If I had just left when Haley had asked me to…well, she’d still be alive.”

“Haley’s your wife?”

“She was, yes.”

“I’m sorry, Aaron.”

He could see that she was sorry, that she hurt because he hurt. He could see she understood what it meant to lose someone close to you, and that platitudes like “you’ll come out stronger” and “time heals all wounds” were unhelpful pieces of shit. Losing Haley hadn’t made him stronger. Losing Haley had broken him, shattered him into a thousand pieces, and no amount of time would put him back together.

“When did you lose your dad?” Aaron asked.

“Ten years ago. He was killed in a car accident, coming to get me from school.”

Aaron couldn’t stand to see the tears appear in her eyes. Reaching over, he placed his hand on hers. “I’m sorry, Melissa.”

She nodded, trying to keep the tears in. “I’m…I’m kinda glad he isn’t here anymore. It would have destroyed him to know what…what happened to me.”

Melissa knew Aaron understood by the way he stood up from his chair, walked around the island, and wrapped his arms around her. Maybe it was wrong to hug this man, wrong to rely on him the way she did for comfort, wrong to nurture these growing feelings. But right then, in his arms, Melissa let herself melt into him.

It had been an instinctual gesture, hugging her, and Aaron knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t stand to see her cry. So for the next few minutes, Aaron let his guard down and held this young lady who understood his grief, understood how to make him laugh, and understood how to wiggle her way into his heart.


	11. Chapter 11

Melissa didn’t know how long Aaron had held her, but she didn’t want it to end. Taking a few deep breaths, Melissa wiped her tears away with her hand. This gesture alone made Aaron shift, and she was sad for it. His hands were on her shoulders as he looked at her, searching her face to see if she was alright.

She gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be okay, sorry.”

“Hey,” he whispered, “there’s nothing to apologize for, Melissa.”

She nodded, unsure what to say. Thankfully Aaron broke the silence. “I was thinking, you certainly cannot wear my boxers to the mall.”

Melissa scoffed, smiling again. “You think?”

“How do you feel about wearing your old clothes until we can get you some new ones?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“What happened to your clothes anyways? When I dropped you off here a few months ago, you had that small bag.”

“Well, when I left this place, I took it with me, but um, it was stolen from me, along with my bus pass.”

Aaron frowned, “When did this happen?”

“The day after I left. I took the bus to stop number 3 because it was on the edge of the highway, right as people were leaving the airport. I was hoping maybe someone who give me a ride to wherever they were going, and just keep going from there. But uh, this group of woman approached me and I gave up my bag and bus pass so that they would leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. Did you have anything else in the bag besides clothes?”

“I don’t carry around much else.”

Aaron hadn’t missed the fact she had used the present tense. She still thought of herself as a nomad it seemed, despite having an actual place to stay and settle. “Well, maybe we can get you some other things at the mall then too. Some things to make this place a little homier?”

Melissa didn’t meet his eyes. “I’m not staying here.”

“Melissa. . .”

She stood up and walked out of his reach. “No, Aaron, I can’t stay here. I can’t! Sooner or later, Eric will find me, don’t you get that?! You can’t keep me safe!”

“You’re safe here, Melissa, I promise.”

“Stop promising things!”

Aaron crossed his arms, his face turning to stone.

Melissa whispered, “You can’t protect me forever, Aaron.”

“Well you certainly aren’t making it easy. If you’d just stay here where they have a good security system and good support system, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard. Eric Newman is an unorganized killer who makes plenty of mistakes, we will catch him. Until then, all I ask is you stay here, where you are safe.”

“I’m not some kid you can drop off at a daycare, Aaron.”

“Well you’re certainly acting like one.”

“Excuse me? I can take care of myself. I don’t need you.”

“Oh really? Then why I can see your ribs and signs of malnutrition? Why do you have those scars on your wrists, Melissa? Why can’t you sleep in an actual bed?”

“You know why,” she hissed.

“I know that, even if you don’t want to admit it, you need help, Melissa. All I’m trying to do is help you, but you’re too stubborn to let me.”

Crossing her arms, Melissa felt the weight of his words. She did need help. She knew she did. But what the hell was the point in getting help when any day now Eric would take her all over again? His voice echoed in her ears: she was his; they were made for each other; nothing would take her away from him. And she believed every word. She couldn’t run from him. So why try?

“Okay,” Melissa spat towards Aaron.

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll stay here. But can we go to a Good Will or something? I don’t want you spending too much money on me. You’ve already spent enough.”

Aaron was surprised she backed down so easily, he had guessed she was a fighter from the moment he saw her cowering in that corner. Today, he had gotten a small glimpse. Perhaps there was hope for her yet. “Alright,” Aaron nodded, “we will go to Good Will.”

Shopping with SSA Aaron Hotchner made Melissa laugh, despite their earlier argument. It was as if he didn’t know how to act in a store. He stood near her, looking too much like an FBI agent. His thoughts were obviously occupied, and Melissa wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Could he see through her bluff? Did he know why she had finally chosen to stay? She couldn’t discern anything from his stern face.

Once in a while, as she pulled out some rather hideous pants or underwear for kicks and giggles, SSA Hotchner would crack a smile, but it didn’t stay too long. Aaron couldn’t help but notice how Melissa startled each time the door opened with a new customer. He knew she worried, and it made him sad. Didn’t she trust him? Then again, why should she? Hadn’t he made it clear that for two months he didn’t care what happened to her? The police detail had only stayed watching over her for a week after he had left. After that, she was basically on her own. He hadn’t even found out she was missing until a whole month after she had left the community for God’s sake.

“What do you think?” Melissa stepped out of the dressing room wearing a pale yellow sun dress. Aaron had only glanced at first, but then had to do a double take. _God, she was beautiful._

Melissa began to laugh, “I’ll take that expression as a compliment, Agent Hotchner.” She then turned and looked in the mirror. The way her hands ran down the fabric reminded Aaron that it must have been months since she wore something this nice.

“You,” Aaron frowned as his voice cracked involuntarily, “You should get it.”

Melissa smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Oh no, I tried this on as a joke. What do I need a dress for?”

“Dates?” Aaron shrugged.

Melissa laughed out loud, “Right, because all guys want a damaged girl, right?”

“Aren’t we all damaged?”

Melissa looked at him quizzically, before shrugging and returning to the dressing room. This time when she came out, she had a more practical outfit on: a t-shirt and jeans. The t-shirt had no defining features, just a solid color: pink.

As if reading his mind, Melissa replied, “Pink is my favorite color.”

Aaron nodded, pushing down the thought that she was beautiful in any color. “Why don’t you pick out a sweater and jacket?”

“Aaron,” Melissa smiled, “you do know we are in Southern California don’t you?”

He smiled with her, “yeah, I guess you’re right. I was just thinking it would be nice to have some, just in case.”

“I do like fuzzy sweaters,” Melissa replied as she headed to the sweater section.

SSA Aaron Hotchner followed her like a puppy down the rows of second-hand clothes. He knew if the team were here they’d be amazed. Morgan, well, he’d be flashing a giant smile, and probably would make some inappropriate joke. Rossi would stand there with that smug look on his face. Reid would be oblivious of course, but the girls Prentiss, JJ, and Garcia would no doubt be laughing at him. In fact, Aaron was glad they weren’t here to see him like this. It would hurt his reputation as the hard-ass boss.

“I think this is enough,” Melissa said as she brought two sweaters to him.

Aaron raised an eyebrow, “Melissa, I want you to have enough clothes. Two sweaters, three t-shirts, and a pair of jeans is hardly enough.”

“Aaron, I don’t want you spending—“

“I know, I know, but things here aren’t expensive. You should see how much my suits cost.”

“But your suits are for you, Aaron, not some random girl.”

“You’re not a random girl, Melissa.”

Melissa locked eyes with him. She hadn’t expected that to come out of his mouth, and according to the look on his face neither did he. But she decided not to push it. “Okay, I’ll grab a few more t-shirts.”

“And some shoes.”

“Shoes? What’s wrong with these?” Melissa looked down to her tennis shoes. Sure they were old, but they also had been with her through a lot. They fit her perfectly from her many hours walking up and down highways to standing up waitressing.

“They are falling apart, Melissa.”

“Aren’t we all falling apart?” She gave him a shy smile, knowingly using his words to make a joke.

Aaron gave her a stern look, then ordered her to go look at the shoes.

“Yes, dad,” Melissa said playfully before turning towards the direction he had pointed her in.

Thankfully she had turned before she could catch Aaron’s cheeks turning a deep red. Did she know the affect she had on him? Why else would she say that? _Fucking hell, this girl was doing to be the death of him._

Melissa returned some minutes later with a pair of new-ish tennis shoes, another pair of jeans, and four more t-shirts—all different colors.

“Is this enough for you, dad?” She joked. Aaron shot her a stern look, which made her laugh even more. The total for her items was only $50, which Aaron thought was a great price, but he could see Melissa shrink a little.

“Hey, it’s fine,” he whispered. “This is a gift, okay?”

She still continued to frown. Fifty dollars might not seem like a lot, but she knew how far she could get with a fifty. And, if she was being completely honest with herself, she didn’t deserve Aaron’s money, or his kindness.

The sun had set by the time they exited the store and got into the car. Aaron had noticed after he paid for her things that Melissa had become quiet. No doubt she was thinking about the amount he had paid. To break the silence, he spoke, “hey, how about we stop at a quick grocery store and get some food for dinner?”

“How am I ever supposed to pay you back?”

“Melissa,” his brown eyes bored into her, “you don’t need to pay me back.”

“But—“

“Melissa, these are all gifts, okay?”

“I don’t deserve them. I didn’t do anything for them.”

Frowning, Aaron walked around the rental car and stood next to her. “That’s why they are called gifts. Look, Melissa, I’m buying you these things because I want to buy you these things. I want you to have clothes and shoes and be comfortable in your house. And you do deserve them. You deserve to feel safe and cared for.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Why do you deserve to feel safe and cared for?”

“No, why do you care?”

Aaron hadn’t expected the question, and he wasn’t even sure how to answer it without revealing these feelings that had plagued him since he met her. Without thinking, he blurted, “Because I feel responsible for you.”

Melissa looked away from him. She realized then what she was doing was wrong. She was letting this man take care of her, feel “responsible” for her, and allowing her feelings to get in the way. If Aaron felt anywhere the same connection for her as she did for him, it wasn’t a good thing. She couldn’t have him caring for her, not when she was a ticking time bomb.

“I’m tired,” she said, “I want to go back to the house.”

“Okay. What do you want to do about dinner? I could order something?”

“I’m not hungry. You can get whatever you want.”

Melissa could see the hurt in Aaron’s eyes flick before his stern mask covered any other emotions. She had pushed him away, she knew, but it was for the best. This sweet, dear man deserved better than a damaged girl. He deserved a secure, smart, beautiful woman—and that wasn’t her.

On the ride home, Melissa kicked herself inwardly. Aaron probably didn’t even see her like that, he was just doing his job. Yeah, that was it. He had said he felt responsible for her, responsible like a mentor to a mentee or a father and daughter, nothing more. And as she peaked a look at Aaron while he drove, she knew she must be correct, for once more he wore the mask of SSA Hotchner.


	12. Chapter 12

Seeing that face, hard and unfeeling, immediately made her regret her decision. She missed the rare smiles he gave her. Throughout the drive, they remained silent. Walking into her trailer house, they remained silent. As he ordered food on his smart phone, they remained silent. Melissa hated it, and she cursed at herself _. If things were different_ … she thought. If she hadn’t been attacked by a mad man… If she hadn’t been raped… If she had just met Aaron at a local restaurant while waitressing… If she had been a healthy individual… If she had—

A knock came from the door and Melissa’s face lost all color. Before Aaron saw what happened, she had run from her place at the couch and disappeared into the main bedroom. He cursed at himself, he should have warned her the food was arriving.

The knock came once more and Aaron growled. Can’t they just leave it on the front step like this morning? Why did they insist on knocking?

“What!?” he yelled as he opened the door.

The DoorDash driver jumped back in fear. “Hey, man, I just wanted to make sure you got your food.”

“We got it, thanks.”

The driver glared at him, but went back to his car without another word. Bringing the food inside, Aaron didn’t even bother to place it on the kitchen island, only just leaving it on the floor as he shut and locked the door.

“Melissa,” Aaron said as he walked down the hallway and into the main bedroom. “Melissa, it’s okay, it was just our food.”

He frowned when she didn’t immediately appear. So, walking to the closet, Aaron opened the door slowly. There she was, sitting on the floor, knees hugged into her chest. Tears streamed down her face, and Aaron cursed.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said as he crouched down onto the floor. “You’re safe with me, remember?”

“But…what about when you leave?”

Aaron frowned, he couldn’t answer that. His heart wanted to comfort her, tell her he’d never leave her, but his head knew better. He had a life in Virginia, a job, a son. It wasn’t as if he could just bring her back to Virginia. Yet the look on Strauss’ face would be priceless. And maybe the team could help Melissa too. Garcia would immediately take Melissa under her bejeweled wing. Rossi would treat her as if she were a daughter. Reid could entertain her with magic tricks. Prentis and JJ would protect her fiercely. Morgan would joke around with her, though Aaron worried he’d be the butt of their jokes.

Aaron could see Melissa fitting in so well with their pseudo family, he blurted out, “Come back to Virginia with me.”

Melissa’s head snapped up, “Wh—What?”

Inwardly Aaron was screaming at himself. What the fuck was he thinking? Had he really just said that? What was it about her that made him do stupid things? She was staring at him, he knew, and so he tried to focus. Taking a deep breath, he spoke again, “Come back to Virginia with me.”

“Aaron, I…no…that’s too much…I can’t…I…I don’t know anyone there.”

Aaron laughed softly, “Do you know anyone here?”

“Well, no, but—“

He reached for her hand and pulled her out of the closet. Backing up, he sat on the bed, and pulled her to a sitting position next to him. “Melissa, I don’t like the idea of you being on your own out here. If you came to Virginia, I’d be closer in case you needed anything. My team would be closer and you could officially meet them, I’m sure they’d love you. You could start a new life. You could heal.”

“Aaron,” her voice caught in the back of her throat, “I can’t pay for a plane ticket and don’t go on telling me you could pay for it. That is simply too much!” She stood up and paced in front of him. “And…Aaron have you thought about what happens when Eric comes for me? You’d be right in the middle and I can’t do that to you. I can’t! You’ve been so kind and amazing and what type of person would I be if I let you get hurt because of me?”

“Melissa, he won’t—“

“He will, Aaron! You don’t know him, you think you do because you profiled him but you don’t!”

Aaron cocked an eyebrow, “I don’t remember telling you I was a profiler.”

“Yes, well,” Melissa crossed her arms, “I googled you.”

Aaron flashed her a large smile and laughed.

Melissa smiled back, “Stop laughing at me. I was curious about the man who saved me.”

“It wasn’t just me, Melissa. It was all of us, my team.”

Sitting back down next to him, Melissa sighed. “I can’t, Aaron. Whether we want to believe it or not, Eric…he’s waiting for the right time to capture me again. Don’t look at me like that, he is. And, I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt.”

Aaron frowned. He hadn’t expected her to say no. He hadn’t expected Eric’s ghost to haunt her so much that she’d turn down the opportunity. Hadn’t she said herself she didn’t want to stay here? Sighing, he pushed his disappointment away. “Our food is getting cold.”

Melissa gave him a questioning look.

“I got you fries.”

Without warning, Melissa jumped into his arms, holding him tightly, listening to the melody of his pounding heart. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head, he ignored the feeling of dread in his stomach. How was he ever going to leave her?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains graphic images of self-harm.

Dinner was spent chatting out different aspects of their lives, and Melissa loved every second of it. The fries were delicious smothered in ketchup. A few times she’d watch Aaron eat his burger, trying to be as clean as he could be, though sometimes not succeeding.

The looks Melissa gave him at dinner felt so real and it made Aaron’s heart ache. He was falling for this girl, he knew, and based off of the looks she gave him, she was falling for him too. _Fuck_. He went through his list of excuses again, though only half-heartedly. He couldn’t help but watch as Melissa enjoyed her food as if it was the only thing that mattered in the world.

Breaking the moment, Aaron’s phone rang, and his smirk turned into a frown.

“Hotchner….How many hours ago?...Why are we just hearing about this now?” Aaron sighed, “Send me over the files. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Locking eyes with Melissa, he began to speak, but she interrupted him. “You’re leaving.”

“I’m sorry, we just got a case. A young girls been abducted along with her adult sister.”

She swallowed, “Aaron, I understand. You need save them, like you saved me.”

They both stood at the same time, though Melissa didn’t follow him into the main bedroom as he gathered his things. Instead she walked towards the door, arms hugging herself. She had known this moment would come, though she had hoped he’d stay the next 5 days with her. _What a silly notion_ , she thought, _that this FBI agent could stay with me._

“Melissa,” Aaron said as we walked toward her holding his go-bag. “I must ask you to reconsider. Come with me.” His head yelled at him for asking a second time, she had given him her answer after all, but his heart ached to hear her agree. “You can come to Nebraska with me, meet the team, rest while we work this case, and then come with us back to Virginia. We can find you a place to stay there, a job.”

“Aaron…” tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to say yes. She wanted nothing else in the world in that moment. She just…couldn’t shake the feeling of Eric’s hands on her. She didn’t need to close her eyes to see his face looming over her, choking her into submission. She looked into Aaron’s pleading eyes, and again, she had the same thought she did last night. _It would have been better if he had just stayed away._

“Aaron, I can’t.”

His frown deepened as he searched her eyes and found resolve. She would not be coming with him. _That’s what you get for letting your heart win, Aaron._

Melissa knew he was hurt and she wanted nothing more than to take it all back, tell him yes, she’d love to come with him, tell him how much the offer meant to her. Instead, she said, “Your teams waiting for you.”

“Right,” Aaron stepped back from her, his voice unemotional. “Take care of yourself, Melissa, and if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.”

Nodding, Melissa wrapped her arms tighter around herself and held the tears back as Aaron walked out the door. She watched as he got into his car and drove away before looking around frantically and shutting the door.

She didn’t make it too far into her apartment before falling to her knees and crying. Her pain just toppled out, uninhibited. Her chest hurt, her lungs gasped for air, and snot ran down onto the carpet. The light that seemed to appear when Aaron Hotchner arrived disappeared, and she couldn’t find her way out of the dark.

Melissa didn’t know how long she laid there, but her gasps became less frequent and an idea replayed within her head: She didn’t deserve SSA Aaron Hotchner. No, she didn’t deserve him at all. How she could even have thought he’d want her was beyond her. She was a mess. She was broken. She was used, damaged goods. He deserved better, oh how he deserved so much better. She didn’t deserve to even think of him like that. It wasn’t her place. He was an angel and she was trash—used up, dirty, despicable. She hated herself, oh how she hated herself.

Without another thought, Melissa stood up from her floor, grabbed a small knife she had hidden in the guest bedroom’s closet and brought it to her wrist. She wanted nothing more than to punish herself for thinking she could have someone like SSA Aaron Hotchner. And so, she brought the knife down to her skin, pressed hard, and began dragging it toward her elbow.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends, I ACTUALLY DID plan on this story being long, but from this chapter on they will be much longer to keep my chapter count down :)

Aaron arrived in Omaha, Nebraska around 2 in the morning. He met Morgan, Reid, Prentiss, and JJ at the police office. They had only eight more hours to find a missing girl and her eighteen-year-old sister.

“Relatively speaking,” Reid was saying as Hotch entered the conference room, “it is extremely rare that an unsub would grab both the young girl and her sister. They are obviously two different types of victims, and not just in age, but also in hair color and eye color. Preferential offenders only find one type attractive.”

Prentiss jumped in, “Maybe Kelly put up a fight, but lost when the unsub threatened her sister? Uh, come with me or I’ll kill the girl?”

“Make sense,” Morgan replied, “But who was the intended victim here? Kelly or Josie? Until we figure that out, we got nothing.”

“What about their father?” Hotch asked, crossing his arms and frowning.

JJ replied, “Mr. Osman died in a car accident on his way to see Josie’s birth.”

“The stepfather?” Hotch prodded.

Again, JJ responded, “The sheriff brought him in as soon as the mother filed the missing persons report. They’ve held him since then, but we can’t hold him much longer.”

“I’ll go talk to him. Prentiss, I’d like you to come me. If he took his stepdaughters, he might be more willing to talk to you than me.”

Prentiss nodded and followed him through the bustling police station to the interrogation room. Inside the waiting room stood the sheriff, staring through the glass at his suspect.

“Sheriff, what’s the news?” Hotch asked.

“Mr. Ines here has been within our custody for 4 hours. Within that time he hasn’t said a word or accepted any food or drink. He just sits there with his head on the table.”

“Thank you, Sheriff. Prentiss, catch me up, what did you find at Kelly’s apartment?”

Prentiss sighed, “Well it looked like Kelly and Josie were getting ready for a nice night. There were groceries on the counter, mostly snacks. The TV had been on Netflix for a few hours once we arrived. There was no sign of forced entry, so at least one of them might have known the unsub.”

“And their mother, what has she said about the matter?”

“Well, she provided him with an alibi, said they were at home, working in the yard. The problem is we don’t know when Josie and Kelly were actually abducted. Kelly’s phone was found in the apartment and Garcia says the last known use of it was around 10 a.m. Their mom didn’t report them as missing until 2 p.m.”

“So we have a four hour window between when Kelly last checked in with Ms. Ines and when Mrs. Ines called the police. Where is Mrs. Ines?”

“JJ has her in a separate room, actually, to make sure their stories match up.”

The Sheriff jumped in quietly, “Parents are supposed to protect their children.”

Aaron’s eye brows lowered, “Yes, they are,” before stomping into the interrogation room.

Prentiss rushed after him, but then stopped. Hotch hadn’t given her any indication how he had wanted this interrogation to go, so she took a chance and walked back to the window. She’d play off of Hotch’s anger and come to the man’s rescue. But for the good cop/bad cop routine to work, Hotch had to ruffle him up a bit.

And that is exactly what SSA Hotchner did. He sat down aggressively in the chair across from Mr. Ines and simply glared at him.

“Agent, please,” Mr. Ines groaned, “I didn’t hurt anyone. I shouldn’t be here.”

Aaron continued to stare, his face stone.

“Please, you gotta believe me. I didn’t hurt Kelly or Josie. I didn’t. Ask my wife. She and I were working in the yard all day. It...it wasn’t until two o’clock that we realized something was wrong.”

“Tell me something,” Aaron demanded, “you and your wife never had kids of your own?”

Mr. Ines looked confused, “I…No, she didn’t want any after Josie.”

“And when did you enter their lives?”

“Josie…Josie was five, I think.”

Aaron watched him carefully, but remained silent. Let the silence scare him into talking.

“Hey man, I…I raised Josie just like she was mine. She didn’t have a father when I came into the picture.”

“But she’s not yours,” Aaron growled, “and you resent that fact.”

“What, no! Why, why would you say that? I love Josie. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for Josie.”

Hotch stood up and leaned over the desk to get into his face, “Like killing Kelly?! Kelly was grown when you game into their lives, and let me guess: she didn’t accept you, did she, Mr. Ines?”

“Kelly? I…Kelly was fifteen when I arrived, she didn’t want another father.”

“What did she want then, Mr. Ines? A friend? A lover?” Aaron knew he was throwing out unsupported claims, but he only wanted to rattle Mr. Ines enough to get him frustrated.

“A…a lover? What are you talking about? Who…who told you that? It…It was just a rumor Kelly started in school!”

 _Fuck,_ Aaron growled. He hadn’t expected that. He could feel his anger brewing. Slamming his hands down on the table, he yelled at Mr. Ines, “You touched her? A fifteen-year-old?”

Frightened, Mr. Ines stood up and backed away from Hotch. “I…No….I…She lied…Ask my wife, she knows…she knows…”

Aaron continued to stare at this despicable man. He wanted to hurt him. Somehow this case had morphed from an abduction of a young girl and her sister to a sexual assault case.

A click sounded behind him and he knew Prentiss had finally come in behind him.

“Hey, Hotch, why don’t you get some air and let me talk to Mr. Ines,” she said sweetly. He made a mental note to congratulate Prentiss on her timing and prowess. Saving Mr. Ines from a verbal beating would surely gain some rapport. To continue with the act, Aaron glared at both of them before walking out of the interrogation room.

Standing behind the two-sided glass, Aaron tried to take a few deep breaths. His body and mind needed sleep. Had it really been yesterday that Melissa and he had laughed at his bedhead? He tried to push the memory away. This was not the time.

Morgan walked into the room then, standing next to Hotch and the Sheriff. “Any luck?”

The Sheriff replied with a chuckle, “Well Agent Hotchner here certainly rallied his cage.”

Morgan looked to Hotch.

“Apparently there was a rumor circulating around that Mr. Ines was sexually assaulting Kelly.”

“You’re kidding.”

Hotch locked eyes with Morgan, “what is it?”

“Garcia hinted at the same thing. Kelly’s teachers reported the rumor, and social services was called, but their investigation of inconclusive. Turns out Mrs. Ines vouched for him then too.”

“Where is Mrs. Ines, Morgan?”

Morgan shook her head, “we sent her home, Hotch.”

“When?”

“Thirty minutes ago, tops.”

Aaron cringed and started walking out of the room. “Put out an APB for her car, I’ll send JJ and Reid to their house to check if she’s there, though I have a feeling she won’t be. Call Garcia to track her phone.”

“On it,” Morgan said before pulling out his phone. “Baby girl, I need you to track Mrs. Ines’ phone, we think she might be the unsub.”

Aaron walked into the conference room where JJ and Reid were. After telling them to rush to the Ines house, he was left alone in the room. The white board had a map of the surrounding area with Kelly’s apartment highlighted and the Ines house highlighted. Unfortunately they needed three points to make a geographic profile.

Morgan walked into the room. “Hotch, Garcia’s tracking her phone, she’s heading east on the highway.”

“I’ll drive,” Aaron said as he rushed out of the room, Morgan on his heels. “Garcia, call JJ and Reid, tell them to turn around and follow us.”

“Yes sir,” Hotch heard before she hung up.

Jumping into the SUV, Hotch speeded down the roads, sirens blaring.

“Something just doesn’t sit right with this, Hotch.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Mrs. Ines was our unsub, why not just let Mr. Ines take the fall? He’s the most logical suspect and we could easily build a case against him. So if it is Mrs. Ines, why give her husband an alibi and let us keep looking?”

“Maybe they’re a team.”

“It seems the most logical explanation. I just wish we would have about that sooner. Kelly and Josie might be dead by now.”

Hotch frowned. Morgan was right. The chances of finding both of the girls alive, especially when they had been distracted in their search, was slim.

“There!” Morgan pointed. “That’s her blue minivan!”

Suddenly another black SUV t-boned into Mrs. Ines’ van and Hotch had to swerve to avoid the crash, except he turned too tightly. Time slowed as Aaron felt his arms swing with the momentum of a rolling car. Closing his eyes, he felt the windows shatter around them.

A high-pitched squeal rang in his ears and his body refused to move. Melissa’s blue eyes flashed before him before everything turned black.

“Hotch!” he felt arms groping at him. “Hotch, wake up. It’s Spencer. Wake up. I need a medic!”

Aaron groaned, trying to look toward the voice, but everything was blurry.

“Oh thank God. Hotch, hey, look at me, look at me, Hotch.”

Then his eyes focused. Spencer. Spencer was bleeding. Why was he bleeding? “What happened?”

“We can catch you up later, but right now we need to get you out of the car. Can you move?”

Aaron shifted his weight and found he could move. With Spencer pulling him by his arms, Aaron realized the car was laying on its side and Spencer was trying to pull him through the empty windshield.

“Morgan,” Hotch groaned, “Where’s Morgan, Reid?”

While talking, Spencer pulled Aaron away from the car, “He’s fine. The paramedics have him. He was thrown out the window as you guys spun and landed in the ditch. They suspect his collarbone is broken though.”

A few feet from the car, Reid released Hotch and let him sit on the pavement. Aaron could feel blood pouring from his forehead into his left eye. “What happened, Reid?”

“JJ and I rammed into Mrs. Ines to get her to stop. It looks like she was speeding toward the lake to our left and intended to drown herself and Kelly and Josie tied up inside of the van. Guessing by the way you and Morgan flipped, you tried to dodge our crash but the speed at which you were traveling was too fast to properly turn, so the car flipped a couple of times before coming to a stop. Like I said, Morgan was thrown from the car and thankfully landed in the ditch. The only way he could have been thrown out the open window was if he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. You, on the other hand, always wear a seatbelt so it isn’t a surprise that the seatbelt saved your life as the chances of you flying out of the car toward the grassy ditch were minimal at best.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he said as he waved Reid away. “Kelly and Josie were inside the minivan?”

“Yeah, before you called JJ and me to turn around and chase Mrs. Ines, she actually passed us speeding in her van. When she passed, we could the two girls gagged in the back. We began chasing her but needed to be in front of her, so we called Garcia and by process of elimination we deduced that Mrs. Ines was going to kill herself and the girls. So we looked for the easiest way that Mrs. Ines might do that and ensure that the girls didn’t survive. The lake was the only practical answer as Kelly and Josie wouldn’t be able to swim out to safety.”

Aaron tried to focus on what Spencer was saying, but his vision kept blurring. His ear rung, a painful reminder of the accident in New York.

“Spence, is Hotch okay?” JJ ran up to them.

“He’s fine, but a bit dizzy. I’m not sure he knows what I’m saying.”

“Well the paramedics just finished up with Morgan and are making their way over here.”

“Derek,” Reid breathed as he saw Morgan hobbling over to them. Standing up quickly, Reid walked to Morgan and wrapped him in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m fine kid. How’s our Unit Chief?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Hotch said as he struggled to stand up. JJ grabbed his arm and let him lean on her. “How are Kelly and Josie, are they alright?”

JJ responded, “Kelly and Josie are fine. Kelly has a few bruises from being beaten and they both have rope burns on their wrists, but they are going to be fine.”

“Someone…someone call Emily and tell her what’s happened.”

“Garcia’s already on it,” JJ whispered as she led Hotch to the nearby ambulance and sat him down in the back. Immediately paramedics began checking him. JJ glanced over and smiled at Spence and Derek. They were laughing together as Derek just finished ruffling up Spence’s hair. She was glad everyone was okay. Ramming into Mrs. Ines’ car had been a calculated risk, and that decision fell on her. If any of her team had been severely hurt, she would have never forgiven herself. Thank God that hadn’t happened.

“I’m fine, really,” she heard Hotch say behind her.

“Sir, you need to stay seated. You have a concussion.”

“I said I’m fine. I need to get back to my team.”

JJ turned around and pleaded with her eyes. “Hotch, let them look at you.”

Aaron’s nostrils flared, but he calmed down and let the paramedic shine a light in his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Aaron, JJ, Reid, and Morgan boarded the plane looking as if they had survived a bar fight—and lost. Reid had hit his head on the window, splitting open his forehead, which was now wrapped in gauze. Morgan wore a sling and had dirt stains on his skin. JJ’s nose had dried blood on it from the airbag. And Hotch was developing a black eye as well as multiple bruises on his face and neck. Emily, Rossi thought, was the only one who seemed to have missed all the fun.

Because he had been in Mexico tracking down those two women, Rossi hadn’t been able to make it to Nebraska in time for the case, though he had arrived just to board the FBI’s personal jet back to Virginia.

“Rossi, where have you been, man?” Morgan said as he settled down on the couch.

“Oh you know, living it up in, Mexico.”

“Dave,” Aaron said stoically as he sat in the seat across from him.

“Aaron,” Rossi smirked, “looks like I missed quite the fight.”

“Wait, who was in a fight?” Reid repeated as he exited the bathroom.

Giggled erupted from Prentiss, JJ, and Morgan. “Kid,” Morgan replied, “we did. We look like we got into a fight.”

“Oh, no, actually, JJ and I rammed into a minivan to stop an unsub from killing herself and her two daughters while Morgan and Hotch were caught unawares and while trying to dodge our crash ended up tipping and crashing on their own.” Reid flashed an awkward smile, “It was really quite a spectacle seeing as we crashed and totaled two of the FBI’s SUVs, though thankfully—“

“Reid,” Morgan chastised, “he got it, kid.”

Closing his mouth, Spencer gave an awkward apologetic face to Rossi before walking over to the same couch Derek was sitting on.

“Sounds like I missed quite the case,” Rossi said to Aaron as the rest of the team either started chatting on their own or getting comfortable.

Aaron sighed, “Strauss won’t like how we handled the case. It all happened so fast, we were never able to get ahead of the unsub.”

“Hotch,” Prentiss jumped in, “I think we all consider this a win. Kelly and Josie are home safe, Mr. and Mrs. Ines are going to jail, and everyone is okay despite, as Spencer put it, ‘crashing and totaling two of the FBI’s SUVs.’”

“Yeah, Hotch,” JJ chimed in, “this was a win.” She cleared her throat, “now tell us how Melissa is.”

Spencer’s mouth dropped in surprise, Morgan flashed a smile, Rossi chuckled, and Prentiss bit her lip. They were all glad JJ had the guts to ask, but were also unsure how Hotch would react.

Aaron’s head throbbed. He didn’t exactly want his team to know that he had gone to visit a twenty-six-year old victim. He glared at Rossi, who sat there with a smug look on his face.

“Hey, don’t look at me, I didn’t say anything.”

“Come on, man.” Derek said, “We all know why you stayed in San Diego.”

Sighing, Aaron wondered if he could play this off as no big deal. “Profilers,” he growled, though then flashed them a smirk. “Melissa’s fine,” he said, hoping that would be the end of it. But he could tell his team wanted more from their looks. “She, uh, is recovering to the best of her ability. Slowly but surely.”

Silence engulfed the team, they knew Hotch wouldn’t divulge any of the details about his visit, but they were surprised when he refused to make eye contact with them, a sure sign he was lying.

Emily spoke first, “Good, that’s…good. I know if I had gone through what she had, it would probably take me a long time to get back on my feet.”

Spencer grimaced, “It took me a whole year and a half to finally defeat my drug addiction, but the nightmares of being held captive still haunt me today.”

Morgan placed a hand on Spencer’s shoulder, comforting him. “It took me eighteen years to come to terms with what happened to me. The important this is I wasn’t alone. I had my family by my side, and when I confronted him in Chicago, I had you guys by my side.”

JJ spoke up again, “but Melissa doesn’t have anyone.”

Silence once more engulfed the plane and Aaron felt his heart sink. He wanted to stand up, rush to the cockpit, and tell them to turn the plane around immediately. He wanted to force Melissa to come with them, to come to Virginia, but he remained in his seat, silent, hating himself more and more the farther they flew from the West Coast.

Knowing the conversation was over, the team settled into different places on the plane. Derek and Spencer cuddled on the couch, sleeping while sharing the only pair of earbuds. JJ and Emily smiled at them, gossiping about how it had taken years for the two to admit their feelings for one another.

Dave remained thankfully quite, Aaron thought. He didn’t want to think about what the team had said, and he sure as hell didn’t want Dave probing into his time with Melissa. In fact, Aaron was starting to wish he hadn’t gone to see her in the first place.

As if Dave could read his thoughts, he whispered, “Aaron, what really happened back there?”

Glaring, Aaron tried to fight the pit in his stomach. He knew he could trust Dave though, so he gave in. “It’s Melissa, Dave, she’s…she’s not well. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

Dave looked at him expectantly.

He kept going, “she…she lives in fear of Eric. She sleeps in the guest bedroom closet. She runs at the slightest of sounds. And the team is right, she is alone.”

“She has you.”

Aaron frowned, “No, she doesn’t. There’s only so much I can do for her. There’s only so much rejection I can take.”

“Rejection?”

“She…I…” he ran a hand through his hair. “I asked her to come back to Virginia with me. She said no.”

Dave looked shocked at this revelation. He knew that Aaron was smitten with her, but to ask her to come back to Virginia, well, that was a big step. One he hadn’t thought Aaron was brave enough to take. “Do you know why she said no?”

“She is convinced that Eric will come for her eventually and she didn’t want me getting in the crossfire.”

“Hmm,” Dave hummed. He liked the girl’s answer. “She’s right, you know.”

“What? Dave, we haven’t seen or heard anything from Eric Newman in two months. For all we know he could be dead from the gunshot wound Morgan managed to give him. You saw the blood on in the woods.”

“And for all we know, Newman patched himself up somewhere and is waiting for the perfect time to strike again.”

Aaron huffed. “I know, and I’m not giving up on finding the bastard, but…”

“But you were hoping she’d say yes.”

“Well of course I was Dave. I can’t help her when I’m across the entire country.”

“You can’t help her by staying mad at her, Aaron.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. How did Dave always know exactly what to say? He sighed, “You’re right, Dave.”

“Of course I’m right. You don’t destroy three marriages without learning a few things.”

Aaron gave a pathetic smirk before leaning his back against the chair and closing his eyes.

* * *

A busy month passed before Aaron gathered enough courage, and time, to call Melissa. It had been a hectic month filled with case after case. And the longer Aaron went without calling Melissa, the worse he felt. A lot could happen in a month, as they both knew, and he had let many opportunities to call her slip away. But now, in the quiet of his office, he finally decided to call her.

The phone rang multiple times before he was sent to voicemail, though this wasn’t much of a surprise to him. He knew Melissa probably wouldn’t answer the phone as it rang, instead waiting to hear if the voice on the other side was one she trusted and knew to be safe.

“Melissa, it’s Aaron. I, uh, wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing. I hope everything’s good.” He paused, hoping she’d pick up, then looked at his watch. It was 9:30 p.m. eastern time in Virginia, which meant in California it was 6:30 p.m. “Well,” Aaron continued, “it looks like you’re not home, so uh, give me a call when you get this. I’ll be awake for a few more hours.”

As the sound of Aaron’s voice faded away, Melissa sighed. She wasn’t surprised he had called really, but she was surprised at the guilt that rose up within her when she heard his voice. Over the past month she had tried to put Aaron out of her thoughts, though she had allowed herself to think of him in the dark hours before she fell asleep.

She had also kept her promise to stay in the community. Every day the landlord called her, checking to see if she was following the schedule they had given her:

9 a.m.: Wake up, shower, and get ready for the day.

10 a.m.: Show your face in the office.

11 a.m.: Ride the bus to local hotspots and malls and apply for jobs.

12 p.m.: Eat.

1 p.m.: Go to Therapy.

2 p.m.: Take a walk.

3 p.m.: Attend whatever stupid event the community was hosting for the day.

4 p.m.: Check in once more in the office.

5 p.m.: Attend the yoga class in the gym.

6 p.m.: Take a shower, wash your face, do some “self-care.”

7 p.m.: Read the book given to you by your therapist.

8 p.m.: Eat.

9 p.m.: Get ready for bed.

10 p.m.: Lights out.

Rolling her eyes, Melissa knew the landlord was only worried about her now after FBI agent SSA Aaron Hotchner had scolded her. Apparently the day after he left, he called the landlord threatening her and the community by releasing the details of Melissa’s disappearance to the media. That sort of coverage would not help them keep their funding and so the landlord kept an extra close eye on her after that.

The schedule was stifling, however. Every hour there was something! And if Melissa didn’t show up to the events, they tracked her down and forced her to participate. Frankly, the only reason Melissa could stand to stay was because she had told Aaron she would—though there were days she thought about tossing her new bus pass and catching a ride to wherever in some stranger’s truck.

Melissa touched the phone and replayed Aaron’s message, just to hear his voice. He sounded good, concerned, but good. She was glad. She had hoped he would forget about her if she didn’t call him, and frankly she had thought it worked, seeing as he hadn’t called until now.

Letting her depression wash over her, she decided to crawl into her nest early, ignoring the last items on her schedule. Shutting the main bedroom’s closet door, Melissa felt the largest scar on her wrist, the one she had made right after Aaron had left. It still had a few bumpy scabs on it, but the tight pink skin underneath was smooth.

She had created a few tinier scars on her wrist since then, wanting to release the emotional turmoil that weighed in her chest, but that month-old scar was almost her prize possession. It reminded her of Aaron, after all. It reminded her that he deserved better, and she deserved only punishment.

Wrapping herself in blankets, she closed her eyes, allowing herself to dream of SSA Aaron Hotchner.

Aaron waited a week before he tried calling Melissa again. But again, he left a message without an answer. Despite telling himself to keep a level head, he couldn’t help but worry that she had left the community again. Or that her worst nightmare truly had come true and Eric had taken her.

The team watched silently as Hotch seemed to get touchier and touchier every day. He snapped more frequently at them when they joked with each other on cases. He glared a little too aggressively at the police officers who refused to believe in their profile. It was nothing the team hadn’t seen before, though it did leave them all on edge.

Three months after he last saw or spoke to Melissa, the team took a case in San Diego.

“So…” Rossi nudged while sitting across from Aaron on the jet.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Dave.”

“You ever think, Aaron, that that is the issue?”

Aaron glared at him. “She’s not answering my calls, end of story.”

“Have you called the landlord? I mean, they are still sending you those checks, so it wouldn’t be completely off-base.”

“I did. Melissa still lives there. They see her every day.”

“And did they mention how she seemed?”

Aaron sighed, “Apparently she’s been making amazing progress. She has a job now, goes to her therapy session, and has gained a good amount of weight.”

“Ahh,” Dave hummed. “But she’s still not answering your calls.”

“No.”

Aaron could hear the hum of the jet, not the sound of his team members chatting. No, instead they were listening intently to his every word. Aaron growled.

Immediately he heard them go back to their poker game, chatting about the weather and other trivial things.

“You’d think as profilers they’d be better at hiding it,” Dave quipped.

Aaron began scratching on the case files in front of him. Paperwork kept him busy, and he needed to stay busy to stay sane.

“Are you going to go see her?”

With a huff, Aaron put down his pen. “Why would she want to see me if she doesn’t even answer my calls?”

“Maybe talking on the phone gives her anxiety, Aaron. Or maybe she’s still trying to protect you from Eric. Maybe she doesn’t know what to say to you. And maybe you should give her some slack.”

He sighed. Dave was right, as usual. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was hurt she hadn’t answered any of his calls. She hadn’t picked up the phone, despite the office assuring him that she was home after 7 p.m. “What if,” Aaron whispered to Dave, “what if she just doesn’t want to talk to me?”

Dave thought for a few moments, then replied, “You’ll never know unless you ask.”


	16. Chapter 16

Walking into the San Diego police office, Aaron was greeted by the same police chief who had helped them on Melissa’s case only five short months ago.

“I’m sorry to see you all again under these circumstances.” The chief said as he shook everyone’s hand. “I’ve got a room cleared out for you with a white board at the ready.”

“Thank you, chief.” Aaron nodded. “Have you released a statement to the press yet?”

“No, I figured it was best to keep them out of it, seeing as it could lead to mass panic.”

“Yes, you’re right, which is why we need to keep a lid on this for as long as we can.”

“I just,” the chief crossed his arms, “I just don’t know how I feel about not telling the public they could be in danger just by walking outside.”

“I understand that, but, trust me, it is better this way. And when the time is right we will let the public know what is going on.”

The chief nodded and replied, “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, thanks.”

As Hotch entered the conference room, he tried to catch up on the conversation his team was having.

“I don’t know,” Prentiss said, “I’m with the Police Chief. Don’t the people have a right to know this unsub is releasing a toxic gas into public places?

“Prentis,” Morgan argued, “you know we can’t do that. We don’t know where they will strike next and telling the public would just result in fear.”

Aaron interrupted, “Let’s recap what we actually know about this unsub.”

“Well,” Reid cleared his throat, “if we treat the unsub like serial bomber, he’s most likely male, organized, between the ages of 30 to 60. He’s also more motivated by attention rather than destruction, so he will be watching the media closely.”

Prentiss grimaced, “But the unsub could also be similar to an arsonist. Think about it, he attacks public places, doesn’t care who is in the crossfire.”

“We haven’t determined why he’s attacked these places though,” Rossi chimed in, “for all we know they could be personal.”

Morgan walked to the white board pointing at the map already supplied by the police department. “Okay, so, we have a public park that represents childhood and a downtown diner that might mean something to the unsub. Publically, the park and the diner don’t seem to hold any political significance.”

“And we can’t build a geographical profile without a third point,” Reid frowned.

JJ crossed her arms, “So what? We have to wait for him to strike again?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Aaron frowned. “We can build a preliminary profile, but until we figure out if these incidents are personal or a statement, we can’t finalize it. Reid and Morgan, go to the park, see if anything stands out to you. Chief Alonzo already assured me that their chemical protection team cleared the area, but watch out for each other. Dave, Prentiss, you two go to the diner, it’s been cleared as well. All of you be on high alert. Whether our unsub profiles as a bomber or an arsonist, we know he’ll be watching. See if anyone stands out in the crowd, and take pictures.”

His team nodded as they walked out the door, leaving JJ and him behind. “What should I do, Hotch?”

“I need you to keep this quiet for as long as possible. Lie if you have to. If the unsub gets news coverage there’s no telling what he will do. I’ll go to the hospital and talk to the victims.” JJ nodded and left the room as Hotch took out his phone and called Garcia.

“Speak and be heard, oh alpha boss-man.”

“Garcia, I need you to tell me about the victims in the hospital.”

“Okay, well there’s Irene Rickman, mother of two, age 45. She is a daycare owner who frequents the park that our icky ick unsub hit. She was brought into the hospital by a family friend after, and I quote, ‘going bat-shit crazy.’” Aaron heard her typing. “Then there is an eighteen-year-old John Thomas currently unconscious in the hospital. A group of his friends tried to bring him into the hospital but ended up hitting him in the head when he wouldn’t calm down. They, according to the statements they gave to the police, were playing rugby at the same park as Irene.”

“What about the victims from the diner?”

“Yes, uh, the diner. There actually weren’t any victims that were reported, sir.

“How did the San Diego PD connect the locations then?”

“There was a witness, sir, a waitress actually, claiming that a man came in and tried touching other people’s drinks. When the SDPD arrived, the man was gone, but when they tested the drinks they found high levels of PMMA, which is, as you know, also called—“

“Doctor Death,” Aaron finished for her. Then he asked, “Where is this witness, Garcia?”

“I already sent her address to your phone.”

“Thanks, Garcia. Check in with the others, tell them what you told me.”

“Do I smell an idea, sir?”

“Maybe. If the man was using drinks as a dispersal method in the diner, how else would he drug a 45-year-old mother watching her kids?”

“I smell, taste, and savor what you are putting down, sir. I’ll tell the others. Garcia out.”

Rolling his eyes, Aaron allowed himself a small smirk at Garcia’s usual antics. Then, decided he would go talk to the waitress. Perhaps she could describe what the unsub looked like, or could even make a positive I.D.

* * *

As he drove toward the diner, it wasn’t lost on him that he was only a few minutes from Melissa’s trailer home. He tensed as he felt his body want to go see her, right then and there, but he knew he had a job to do first.

Rossi and Prentiss were standing in front of the diner when Hotch pulled up. “Got anything, Dave?” he asked.

“Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. As soon as it was cleared, the owner—Mr. Finnegan—opened back up and people are inside enjoying their meals as if it is just a regular day.”

“What about the witness? Did you talk to her?”

“No, not yet,” Dave sighed, “we figured we’d, uh, wait for you.” Rossi and Prentiss shared a look.

“What is it?”

“Aaron,” Dave said softly, “the witness, it’s Melissa.”

Aaron’s eyebrows lowered. “You’re sure?”

“Saw her with my own eyes.”

Silence engulfed them. Aaron hadn’t expected this, and now faced with seeing her again, he felt his body freeze up.

“If you want,” Prentiss chimed in, “I could talk to her. Maybe she’ll remember me.”

Crossing his arms, Aaron took a deep breath. He needed to remain professional, all he needed to do was interview a witness. That was all. “No, it’s fine. I’ll see get her statement.”

“Good,” Dave hummed, “We will talk to the owner and find out what he knows.”

Nodding, Aaron gathered the courage to walk into the diner, though his body language certainly did not betray the fact he was terrified. Looking around, he only saw one waitress in the whole dinner standing with her back to him. Melissa’s blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun and she wore an archaic 50’s diner dress with an apron over it.

Writing the man’s order on her notepad, Melissa tried to smile pleasantly. She hated this job, this life, and the fact that she was in a dress. She didn’t like her legs being exposed like this.

“This coffee is trash, do you know that, girl?! You brought it to me cold. Cold!”

“I’m so sorry, sir,” she mumbled, “I’ll get you a fresh batch of coffee right away.”

Taking the man’s coffee glass, Melissa continued to apologize. Turning toward the kitchen, and not paying attention to where she went, she collided with a man in a blue suit, spilling the lukewarm coffee all over him.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean—“ _Aaron._ She gaped at him, at a loss for words. What was he doing here? She felt the eyes of the entire diner on the two of them and fear swept over her. Her boss was going to kill her. Still, she couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, only stand there like an idiot.

“Melissa!” A man bellowed from the kitchen. He stomped over, his face tomato red. Anyone could see that this overweight man was furious.

Stepping back instinctively, Melissa looked from Aaron to her boss. This was not going to be good.

“Sir,” her boss addressed Aaron, who refused to take his eyes off of Melissa, “I am so sorry for my clumsy waitress, she will surely be punished after such a display. Here, take my apron to wipe off the coffee. I might have some stain remover in the back.” The man glared at Melissa. “Go get it, girl!”

Jumping into action, Melissa started toward the kitchen.

“Melissa, stay,” Aaron ordered.

Stopping in her tracks, she began to tremble. She had looked forward to getting away from the watchful eyes of the customers and away from her boss, if only for a few seconds.

“Sir, my name is SSA Aaron Hotchner with the FBI,” Aaron flashed his badge, “and I need to talk to your employee here about what she saw the other day.”

Melissa watched as her boss comprehended the words Aaron had said. He had been in awe of the FBI badge, but then quickly realized his customers were listening. If they knew that there had already been three drug related deaths in the neighborhood and that his dumb waitress had called the police to report she had seen someone messing with drinks, well, he’d be out of business.

“Let’s all go in the back, shall we?” Melissa’s boss purred, also looking at Rossi and Prentiss. Moving to lead the FBI agents to the kitchen, he grabbed Melissa’s arm hard and dragged her with him. “You’ll pay for bringing the FBI here, girl,” he whispered through fowl breath.

Another waitress was clocking in as soon as they reached the back. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Melissa’s boss barked at her. “Get out there and serve the customers!” Fleeing, she ran out the door.

Glancing at Aaron, Melissa searched his face for any sign of emotion, but there was none. His face was hard as stone as he watched Melissa’s boss.

“These are my colleagues SSA Rossi and Prentiss. They have a few questions for you while I speak with your employee.”

The man raised his eyebrows, “oh, no need to separate, friends. We can answer any questions you have about the girl’s report.”

Melissa bit her lip as the air in the room tensed.

“I’ll be speaking with her alone, Mr. Finnegan,” Aaron crossed his arms, “unless you would prefer to be escorted down to the police station charged with obstruction of a federal investigation.”

Mr. Finnegan’s face darkened, he wasn’t used to being ordered around. “Just, give me one moment with her,” he said before pulling Melissa away from the agents. His nails dug into her elbow and she grimaced.

Then, Mr. Finnegan was pulled away from her by the collar of his grubby shirt and spun around so that Aaron stood between them. “Mr. Finnegan I am losing my patience. Go with my agents and answer some questions or so help me I will shut this diner down immediately and tell the media we found large amounts of PMMA in your store rooms. Do I make myself clear?”

Glaring, Mr. Finnegan huffed, “Fine. But don’t believe what the bitch tells you. She is mentally insane, seeing ghosts where there are none.”

Melissa looked away, knowing that Mr. Finnegan wasn’t wrong. She saw Eric’s face everywhere and frequently left work in a panic.

As Rossi and Prentiss walked her boss out the back door, she felt Aaron’s eyes fall on her.

“Melissa, are you okay?”

Melissa’s heart sank. For three months she had ignored his calls in the hopes that he would forget about her, but here he was, and the first thing he asked her wasn’t questions about his case. No, the first thing he asked was how she was doing. Her heart beat a little faster, he was still an angel, that hadn’t changed.

When she finally looked at him, Aaron felt his heart flutter.

“I’m fine, Aaron. I’m sorry I spilled coffee on you.”

He gave her a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t be sorry. I shouldn’t have startled you like that.”

Silence engulfed them and Melissa found she couldn’t look at him for more than a few milliseconds without wanting to cry.

“Melissa, I have to ask you a few questions about your call to 911 the other day.”

She nodded.

Aaron frowned. “What did you see exactly?”

“Um, I was cleaning some tables off, and when I glanced towards our bar area I saw a man touching the drinks waiting for me to deliver the tables. The drinks sat on the window, over there, so nobody but workers are supposed to be near the window.”

“Do you see his face?”

“No, I was walking over to question him when I tripped and fell. A customer helped me up, but when I looked again the man was gone.”

“What did you trip over?”

“Um, I don’t really know. Maybe my shoelace?”

Aaron looked down to her shoes. They were the exact same pair he had bought her a few months ago. Melissa looked at her shoes as well, and when she looked back up, she smiled at him knowing what he was thinking. His heart ached at that smile…and those blue eyes…and....

Aaron cleared his throat, stopping his thoughts short. “Did anything seem off around you, besides the man being at the kitchen window?”

Melissa’s nose wrinkled as she grimaced. “Aaron, I don’t think I’m a very reliable witness. What Mr. Finnegan said…He was right. Sometimes…Sometimes I see…things.”

“Melissa, we found large amount of PMMA in the drinks you set aside, so don’t discredit yourself. By following your gut, you saved someone’s life.”

Her eyes grew wide, “Saved someone’s life?”

Aaron slid his hands into his pockets. “The unsub we are here to catch is drugging people with high levels of PMMA, which is nicknamed Doctor Death. There have already been three deaths so far, though we don’t know how they contracted it before dying. Right now there are two victims from a local park with the same symptoms in the hospital.”

“Wait, from Jonson park?”

Aaron watched Melissa closely, “Yes, how did you know?”

“Mr…Mr. Finnegan—“ Melissa jumped at the loud bang that came from the back door.

Immediately Hotch grabbed his gun, yelled, “Stay here,” and pulled the door open. Prentiss fell onto the floor, blood flowing from her nose.

Multiple gunshots echoed from the alleyway before Aaron jumped past Prentiss and the door shut behind him. Emily struggled to stand up from the cold kitchen floor, and Melissa rushed to help her. Pulling her to an extra bar stool, Melissa asked looked her over. Her nose looked like it might be broken.

Aaron and Rossi walked in seconds later.

“I knew that white van looked suspicious, but I didn’t follow my instincts, Aaron.”

“What exactly happened, Dave?”

Emily flinched, “He—Mr. Finnegan punched me into the door before jumping behind the white van. Before we knew it, he was in the van, and they were driving off.”

“They?”

“At least two other men,” Emily hissed in pain.

“Well it’s now clear that Mr. Finnegan knew more than we suspected,” Dave hummed.

“Dave, call in the police chief, shut this place down,” Aaron barked. “Prentiss, do you need a medic?”

“No, Hotch, I’m fine. It’s just a bloody nose. I’ve taken harder hits before.”

“Good, clean yourself up in the restroom then call Morgan and Reid. Tell them to come straight over. We need to start from the beginning…”

As Aaron continued to talk, Melissa’s mind drifted. The Aaron Hotchner who spent almost 24 hours in her trailer was so different than the agent who stood before her now. There was no emotion in his voice, only business. _Perhaps that is what kept him sane in his line of work_ , she thought. It probably wasn’t easy seeing so much evil in the world. She knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Then again, she wasn’t even able to handle some customer touching her to help her off the floor.

“Melissa?” Aaron’s voice pulled her out of her head. Looking around, she saw Emily and Dave were gone and it was only her and Aaron in the kitchen.

When her eyes met his, he asked, “How did you know the park I was referring to was Jonson Park?”

“Mr. Finnegan owns a food truck and sells drinks to people at the park.”

“Does he personally sell the drinks?”

“No, um, he has a business partner. I don’t know his name. I’ve only seen him once.”

“Do you think you could make a positive I.D.?”

“I…I don’t know.”

Aaron’s face softened. Although the landlord had assured him Melissa was doing better, he could see she was still filled with fear and self-doubt. He wanted to reach out and pull her into a hug, but stopped himself. The whole team would be here soon, and he didn’t need them seeing him go soft. Instead, he went right back to business. “Come on, let’s get you settled into a booth. We might need to ask you more questions.”


	17. Chapter 17

Sitting felt nice after Melissa had been on her feet since they had opened at 8 a.m. She watched silently as the rest of Aaron’s team arrived. Although they were too far away for her to listen in on their conversation, she caught them glancing over to her multiple times. Perhaps Aaron had told them about what she had said about Mr. Finnegan. But she was also curious if Aaron’s team knew about the time they had spent together. Had he told them about her? Was there anything at all to tell?

When Aaron glanced over at Melissa, he saw that she had put her head down on the table, exhausted. He wondered if she still didn’t go near her door for fear that someone was watching her, if she still slept in a different place at each night, and if nightmares still plagued her. He was glad to see her get some sleep, even if it was in front of the policemen scouring the diner for more drugs.

Emily came up next to him, “I’m surprised she can sleep at all in a public place. When Doyle was chasing me, I couldn’t even sleep in my own apartment.” She looked at Hotch knowingly.

“What?” he responded, playing dumb.

“Come on, Hotch,” she scoffed, “she’s able to sleep because she knows you’re here.”

“You don’t know that.”

Emily grumbled. “Some master profiler you are,” she remarked before walking away.

Aaron stared at Melissa a little bit longer, then walked up to her. Touching her lightly, he said her name. Jumping awake, Melissa’s eyes locked on his before fully registering what was going on. When she realized it was only him, she relaxed. Aaron smiled.

“Sorry to wake you, can I join?”

Nodding her head, Melissa slid over in the booth and Aaron sat down next to her. 

“You haven’t answered any of my calls.”

Melissa scratched something off the table. “I know, I’m sorry. I just…I thought maybe you’d forget about me, if I didn’t answer.”

He frowned, “Do you want me to forget about you?”

Surprised, Melissa looked up at him. His eyebrows were scrunched together and she could see the hurt in his eyes. “I…” What could she possible say to him? She wanted to tell him the truth, she did. She wanted to tell him how her heart raced every time she heard his voice. She wanted to tell him how her skin burned to be touched by him—which was saying something since she _hated_ anyone touching her. But what would that accomplish? He…he was an FBI agent, the freaking Unit Chief! He had a family, a career, a house! He had been fifteen when she was born!

A smirk crossed over her face, trying to imagine Aaron as a fifteen year old. Had he been a rebel? A teacher’s pet? An outcast? A leader? If she had to guess, he probably had been the leader of some club or something—maybe class president.

“Melissa,” Aaron said, bringing her out of her thoughts, “I’m sorry if I put any pressure on you to decide anything. I understand moving to Virginia was a big step and it wasn’t right for me to put you in that situation.” He fidgeted with the condiment holder, making sure it was lined up with the end of the table.

She hated seeing him like this. “Aaron, please don’t apologize. You’re offer…it was…” Melissa cursed her lack of words. “Your offer was very thoughtful, Aaron.” She wanted to say more. Oh how the words wanted to come out! But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t say what she truly felt.

Aaron noticed when she began to rub the largest scar on her wrist, and he furrowed his brows. _That_ hadn’t been there when he had last saw her.

Then, Melissa’s eyes locked on his and she brought her arm under the table, embarrassed he had seen the scar. There was no possible way he could know she had made such a mark right after his departure, right? _Right?_

Anger flooded Aaron. Melissa may have been improving on the outside—getting a job, going to therapy—but she was clearly still struggling internally. He couldn’t quite see how many new scars she had on her wrists, as she had noticed him looking, but there were certainly more than that day three months ago when he had first noticed them. It made Aaron’s skin boil and he wanted to throw the ketchup bottle into the wall, watching it shatter into a million pieces.

What’s more, he had no idea how to help her. If she had come to Virginia, he could have been there for her, held her when things got hard, coached her threw the bad days. But as it stood right now, there was nothing he could do. And he hated it.

“Hotch,” Morgan came up to them, nodding at Melissa before he kept going, “John Thomas just died in the hospital.”

 _Fuck,_ Aaron thought, then turned back to Morgan, “Gather the team. I’ll be right there.”

Morgan nodded and walked backed to where Reid was standing behind the bar.

“Can we talk later, Melissa?” Aaron asked.

Shaking her head, Melissa nodded yes while watching his brown eyes. She loved those brown eyes.

Aaron smiled at her. How could he not? Without much thought, Aaron brushed the blonde hair off Melissa’s cheek. He saw how her face flushed red and he was sure his face was the same color. Quickly, before he did any other stupid things, he slid out of the booth and walked over to his team.

Taking a deep breath, Melissa placed her head in her hands to hide her growing smile. Aaron Hotchner had just touched her in the softest manner possible and her heart soared. Frankly, she didn’t understand how this man had the ability to make her the happiest person in the world, despite sitting in a shabby diner booth.

“Damn, girl,” Tammy, another waitress from the diner, slid into the booth across from her. “Why haven’t ya told me about _the fucking FBI agent_ yet?”

Melissa glared at her, “Keep your voice down!”

“Why? Ya afraid he’ll look over here?” Tammy stood up and waved, “Yoo hoo! Big tall FBI Agent! No not you!” she said when Morgan turned to her, “though we can catch up later if ya want.” Morgan and Reid shared a look. “Melissa,” she whispered, “what’s his name? What’s your bae’s name?”

“Tammy!” Melissa hissed.

“Oh, hey! There he is! Yes, you! Come over here!”

Melissa glanced over her shoulder. Yes, SSA Aaron Hotchner was looking at both of them, along with the rest of his team. She recognized Agents Rossi and Prentiss, but she couldn’t recall the names of the blonde one, the tall awkward one, and the muscular black man.

Thankfully Aaron ignored her loud, nosey co-worker and returned to talking with his team.

“Aww, baby, I just wanted to tell ya a few things about Mr. Finnegan! You’re looking for the PMMA right?”

Melissa’s eyes grew wide. Could Tammy be involved? She had worked for Mr. Finnegan a lot longer than Melissa had. No, Melissa shook her head, if she was involved, why would she spill to the FBI?

Aaron walked over, face guarded against this rambunctious girl, as the rest of the team listened in. “What can you tell me?”

“Straight to the point, huh handsome?” Tammy stood up and placed a hand on Aaron’s chest.

He glared at her, Melissa saw, but he didn’t shy away from the touch. “Where does Mr. Finnegan keep the drugs?”

“Hmm,” Tammy purred, “I’ll tell ya, but first ya have to tell me something.”

“This is not a negotiation.”

“Oh, so serious,” Tammy laughed, “I said I’ll tell ya, ya just have to answer one little question first.”

Aaron furrowed his eyebrows, not in the mood to play games. “How about you tell me what you know or I’ll have you arrested for accessory to murder.”

“Accessory to--?” He had flustered her, but she recovered quickly, “Please darling, we both know that won’t stick.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Melissa saw Morgan pull out his phone and walk away from the group. When she looked back toward Tammy, she had walked her hand seductively up Aaron’s chest and was about to touch his chin.

Aaron grabbed her hand quickly and growled, “What’s your question?”

Tammy chuckled, yanking her hand out of Aaron’s grasp. “That wasn’t so hard was it?” Tammy cleared her throat. “I want to know _what the fuck_ ya’ll doing to catch Melissa’s stalker.”

Melissa’s jaw dropped as the words processed in her mind. Had Tammy really just said that? _Fuck._ She looked at Aaron, who now stared at her. Tammy had obviously caught him off guard as well. Melissa had the feeling that didn’t happen too often. In those stunning brown eyes Melissa saw hurt form and she couldn’t face it. Looking away, Melissa turned back to Tammy’s voice, which hadn’t stopped talking.

“I mean it’s one thing to have a creepy ex, but this man? I mean he even sent me a letter! ME! I’ve known Melissa…a month? Why would he threaten me? And ya know what she says when I ask her about it? It’s not my problem. Not my problem, my ass! Here I am trying to make sure she gets home safe, that this creep hasn’t gone through with his threats, and she shuns me for it, ya know? And now, after a month—a goddamn month—of trying to help her, I find out she’s dating a _fucking_ _FBI agent!_ ”

“Tammy…” Melissa whispered while making a face.

Tammy squinted and paused, “What? Ya’re telling me he didn’t know about the letters, the phone calls, the threats?” She looked toward SSA Hotchner. “Damn, now I know ya don’t like people getting all up in ya business, but ya really kept this from ya boo? I mean, look at him, the man carries a gun!”

Aaron frowned, having let this go on long enough. “You have your answer, now tell us about the PMMA.”

“Now hold on, sugar. Now that ya know, what’re ya gonna do about it?”

They stared at each other for a while. Melissa honestly couldn’t believe this was happening. This morning she had woken up expecting a normal, boring day, and yet here she was with Aaron Hotchner, his team, and her pushy co-worker.

Aaron spoke first, “Melissa will remain with me until we can assess the threat to her wellbeing.”

Tammy watched him, then seemed to accept that answer. She crossed her arms and sat down, “Mr. Finnegan keeps the drugs hidden in the freezer. Here, I’ll show you.”

Aaron held out his hand to stop her from moving any further. “Just tell us exactly where it is and we will send a team to get it.”

“It’s—“

“Hotch,” Morgan walked up to them, “we have Finnegan’s address and a report that he is there. I’ve got a swat team ready to go.”

Aaron nodded, “JJ, can you stay here with Melissa and Tammy? She knows of a stash of the PMMA here in the freezer, in the car, I’ll call a team over to recover it safely.”

JJ walked over and nodded at her boss. “I’ll watch over them.”

Aaron quietly thanked her, knowing JJ would keep her word. He glanced quickly at Melissa, who watched the encounter silently. He felt a pit form in his stomach. He didn’t want to leave her, he realized, and that scared him even more.


	18. Chapter 18

Melissa moved closer to the wall as JJ sat down next to her. Aaron and his team had shuffled out of the restaurant, taking the warmth with them. She shrunk down farther into the booth.

“Melissa, Tammy, my name is Jennifer, but you both can call me JJ.” She smiled.

Looking her over, Melissa couldn’t help but think they looked like sisters. Only, she thought, JJ didn’t look like such a mess. For months, Melissa avoided looking in the mirror, afraid of what she would see. Now, with JJ staring back at her, pretty and polished, Melissa realized how horrible she must look. Melissa looked away, unable to respond to JJ’s introduction. Besides, what should she say to that? _Hi? Hello? I need your boss to stay away from me because I have a crazy stalker who will eventually kill me and I don’t want Aaron caught up in it?_

JJ frowned as Melissa refused to engage with her. She resisted the urge to hug the broken woman in front of her. Instead, she turned to Tammy. “Where is the PMMA again, Tammy?”

“It’s in a hidden compartment underneath the floor. It’s hard to find if ya don’t know where to look. I can guarantee that team Mr. Serious mentioned won’t be able to find it without me.”

JJ raised an eyebrow, “how do you know where it is?”

Tammy crossed her arms, “I ain’t part of his operation if that’s what ya asking.”

“Then tell me how you know where it is,” JJ pushed.

“I’ve worked with Mr. Finnegan for close to five years, okay? Ya learn some things working for him that long.”

“What did you learn?”

Tammy pursed her lips. “For one, not to trust cops. Do you know how many times I’ve left anonymous tips to the SDPD about Mr. Finnegan? More than I can count. And they haven’t done shit.”

“Has Mr. Finnegan used the drugs against others before?”

“Isn’t that somethin’ ya’ll should know?”

“Tammy, despite what you may think, we are here to help.”

Before Tammy could answer, JJ’s phone rang. “Excuse me,” she said as she walked off.

* * *

SSAs Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Emily Prentis, David Rossi, and Aaron Hotchner stood outside of Mr. Finnegan’s house strapping on their bullet proof vests.

“When we go in,” Derek spoke low to Spencer, “you stay close to me, okay?”

“Derek,” Spencer scoffed, “I don’t need you to babysit me. I’ve done plenty of house raids, okay?”

“Yeah, you have, and I protect you for every single one of them.”

“I’m not some helpless baby,” Spencer grimaced.

“No, you’re not a baby, Spence, I know that. But you’re _my_ baby and I’ll protect you till the day I die.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I love you to, you big weirdo.”

Derek flashed a bright smile, and Spencer couldn’t stop his heart from missing a beat.

“Alright, love birds,” Emily cooed, “ready?”

Hotch walked over then, “we know Finnegan is inside, but we don’t know what is plan is. Be cautious and watch each other’s backs.”

Slowly they approached the house, stopping at the front door.

“FBI, we’re coming in!”

Without waiting for a reply, Morgan kicked down the door, allowing the swat team to sweep the first floor. Reid went in first, Morgan close on his heels. Prentis, Rossi, and Hotch followed quickly. Each of them spread out, either following swat members or taking their own path.

* * *

As Melissa watched JJ return, she felt a shiver run down her spine. Something was wrong, very wrong. How long had Aaron been gone? Melissa shook her head, why hadn’t she been paying attention?

Then, Tammy’s phone rang, and JJ seemed to jump. JJ spoke quickly, “Melissa I need you to come with me to the station.”

“What’s wrong?” Melissa slid out of the booth. “Is Aaron okay?”

JJ didn’t answer, but instead took her elbow and led her toward the door. Melissa saw the hazmat team standing around outside through the front windows. Why were they just standing there? She looked back and locked eyes with Tammy, confused.

Tammy gave her a nod and a forced smile before revealing a trigger in her right hand. Melissa watched as Tammy lifted up her shirt, showing her the bomb strapped to her body.

Melissa heard the ding of the restaurant door as JJ pulled them through. Then she felt the heat of the blast, the force of it push them to the ground, and darkness surround her.

JJ wasn’t holding onto her anymore, Melissa realized as she tried to move her body. She felt glass sticking in her skin and tasted blood in her mouth. _What the fuck just happened?_ she thought. She didn’t understand any of this and it frustrated her. Someone grabbed her and tried to pull her into a stand, but she fought them. It hurt to move. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the chaos around her. Policemen rushed to JJ’s side, sirens blared, glass crunched under every foot, and her blood felt hot on her face.

Looking once more at JJ, Melissa saw that she was allowing the paramedic to help her stand. She was even talking, though Melissa couldn’t make out any words. Then JJ was coming toward her, helping her stand, and leading her away from the destroyed building.

“Melissa, are you okay?”

Melissa looked toward where Tammy had been, not quite hearing JJ.

“Melissa, look at me. Hey, look at me.”

Slowly, Melissa’s eyes met hers.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Melissa whispered. “What happened?”

JJ sighed, “I got a call from Garcia—our technical analysis. She ran a background check on Tammy and found some texts between her and Finnegan. Finnegan was blackmailing her. That phone call Tammy got before we left? That was him.”

Melissa tried to wrap her head around what JJ was saying. “Mr. Finnegan forced her to…to…”

“To wear a bomb to work and kill as many policemen as possible.”

“But…no one was in the restaurant except us.”

“That’s true,” JJ wiped some blood away from Melissa’s eye. “Tammy waited until we were clear to ignite the bomb. She saved us.”

Melissa didn’t know what to say or think. It was all just too much. She wanted to go to sleep and never wake up, never have to deal with death and bombs and pain ever again. Then she felt her stomach heave and she threw up.

JJ noticed that Melissa’s puke didn’t contain any food, only acid, and she wondered when the last time Melissa had eaten was. Then her phone rang.

“Derek, what’s up? Did you catch Finnegan? What? Is everyone okay? Okay, we’re on our way.”

Melissa met JJ’s eyes. _What had happened now?_

“Finnegan blew himself up, just like Tammy. Everyone’s fine. Hotch is fine. We’re going to meet them at the hospital.”

Melissa’s heart jumped. “The hospital? Why are we going there if everyone’s fine?”

“Because you and I might have concussions. And because the rest of the team is there having the paramedics check their injuries.”

JJ motioned for Melissa to follow her, but Melissa didn’t budge. “What injuries though? You said everyone was fine!”

“Melissa, they are fine. All the injuries are minor cuts and bruises, like us. The bombs weren’t that big. My guess is that Finnegan knew he couldn’t escape his fate. Now come on, just come see for yourself.”

Sitting in the car, Melissa felt a shiver run through her body and realized she was still in the dumb dress that Finnegan made her wear. It was slightly too big, considering she no longer fit into normal sized clothes. When she had put the dress on for the first time, Melissa scoffed at herself. Her ribs poked out and her skin was a sickly gray color.

“We’ll get you a change of clothes, Melissa, I promise.”

“I’m fine,” Melissa whispered, “I just want to get there.”

JJ could feel Melissa’s anxiety when they stopped for a red light, and she tried to alleviate it by talking. “How have you been lately, Melissa?”

Melissa sighed, it was like being in her therapist’s office all over again. Her therapist was a nice lady, sure, but Melissa refused to talk with the lady about what had happened with Eric. This left her therapist frustrated.

“How do you think I am?” she said.

JJ wasn’t sure how to respond and so remained silent for the next block. Melissa was glad for the silence, however long it lasted.

“It gets better, Melissa. I know people say that all the time, but it does.”

“Yeah,” was all Melissa could say. How many times had she heard that from her therapist or her therapy group? Heck, she’d even heard it from her landlord. People just loved to say it! “It gets better,” “time heals all wounds,” “something good will come out of this,” “everything happens for a reason;” Melissa scoffed at all of them.

“Here we are,” JJ said as they pulled into the parking lot. “The team should be just inside. Oh, wait, that looks like them there by the door.” Night had fallen and the street lights gave everything an orange hue. “Wait! Melissa!”

Before the car had fully stopped, Melissa opened the door and leapt out. She ran toward the circle of friends and dove into the arms of a surprised Aaron Hotchner.

Aaron hadn’t heard her footprints rushing toward him. Instead his clue to turn around came from the various faces of his teammates. Spencer was more surprised than anything, Derek and Emily were smirking like children, and Dave couldn’t hide the pleasure on his face. Confused, he had turned around only to feel her small body collide with his. She was shaking and crying, and so he did the only thing he could do, he wrapped his arms securely around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers! Please, if you have time, and love my story, send some encouragement my way. Unfortunately, I love validation. I live for the Kudos and I die for the comments! Please let me know what you think! :)


	19. Chapter 19

“JJ!” Emily said as she walked around the two “lovebirds” and toward her friend. “How are you doing? We heard about the bomb.”

“I’m fine, just a few scratches. Tammy didn’t ignite the bomb until we were already out the door, so we owe her our lives.”

“The girl flirting with Hotch?” Reid jumped in.

“Yeah, when Garcia called me she explained that Finnegan had been blackmailing her.”

Rossi hummed, “so it was Finnegan’s plan all along to blow up his house and restaurant.”

Morgan crossed his arms, “guess the creep knew he wouldn’t survive in prison.”

Emily looked back at Hotch and Melissa. They still held each other tightly. She noticed that Hotch had his eyes closed, finally looking relaxed. It was a sight Emily didn’t think she’d see again after Haley’s death. “Why don’t we go talk about this inside?”

The team all agreed—Derek, Spencer, and JJ giggling about the state of their Unit Chief and Dave and Emily pushing the rest through the hospital entrance to give Hotch some privacy.

Melissa had stopped crying but hadn’t let go of Aaron. She had practically melted into his embrace and the sound of his heartbeat had hypnotized her. She felt safe and she didn’t want the feeling to go away.

Aaron pushed back the voice in his head that said this behavior was wrong and tried to enjoy the moment. His heart was full and he had almost forgotten the feeling. _She smelled amazing too._ Inhaling, Aaron closed his eyes and let the comfort wrap around him.

“They’re talking about us,” Melissa whispered, breaking the silence. Aaron chuckled and Melissa couldn’t help sprout a smile. She liked the sound of his laugh, but she loved the feeling of his chest shake even more.

After a few more seconds of silence, Melissa heard Aaron’s voice become serious again. “How are you feeling?”

Frankly, Melissa didn’t know how to answer that question. It was a stupid question, she thought, coming from a master profiler. So instead of answering, she whispered, “I’m just glad you’re here.”

Instinctively Aaron wrapped his arms tighter around her. He wanted to protect her from everything the world threw at her. He wanted to hold her forever. But that nagging voice in his head was starting to come back. _This was wrong. She is vulnerable and not thinking straight._ _I’m taking advantage of her. I’m 15 years older than her._

Aaron cleared his throat, “we should probably get you checked for a concussion.”

Melissa frowned. He was right, she knew, but that didn’t make it any harder to release him. And when she finally moved away from him, she felt the warmth, the safety, and the calm leave her. “Can I just . . . can I go home?”

He slid his hands into his pockets, stopping himself from reaching out to her again. “Yeah, let me just tell the team.”

Melissa nodded and followed him into the hospital lobby. She had no intention of staying outside in the dark alone, but when the team all turned to look at her, she had to stop herself from running in the opposite direction. “I’m gonna find the bathroom, Aaron,” she said, not waiting for any acknowledgement from him.

Watching her go, Aaron frowned, but turned back to his team. “I’m going to take Melissa home. I can meet you guys at the plane later tonight.”

Dave slapped Aaron on the shoulder, “we have all discussed it, and we think we should stay the night and leave bright and early in the morning.”

“Yeah, right,” Aaron replied, “Strauss would have my ass.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Emily said with a slight smile, “I’m not feeling the greatest.” She dramatically leaned on the chair beside her, “My ears, their still ringing from the explosion, I don’t think I should fly.”

Spencer chuckled, “Yeah, the main direct, primary effect to humans from an explosion is the sudden increase in pressure that occurs as a blast wave passes. It can cause injury to pressure- sensitive human organs, such as ears and lungs. Flying after that amount of pressure to our bodies could cause moderate to severe unknown affects.”

Derek rolled his eyes at Spencer’s ability to crack a joke. “I think he gets it, genius.”

JJ smiled, “We _all_ decided to stay the night, Hotch. Strauss can’t dispute that.”

Crossing his arms, Aaron stared at his scheming team. “Alright. But we leave first thing in the morning.”

Dave clapped, “I’ll call Garcia to set up some hotel rooms for us. Go with Melissa, Aaron. We’ll be fine.”

Derek laughed, “Of course we’ll be fine! A night of no worries in San Diego?” He started to swing his hips, “It’s time to partaayyyy.”

Aaron’s brows furrowed. Strauss really was going to have his ass.

“Go,” Dave whispered, “We’ll keep Morgan from getting into trouble.”

Nodding, Aaron walked away from his team and toward the direction Melissa had gone in search for a restroom. Before he was out of earshot, he heard Reid say, “Derek, can’t we just stay in a play Pictionary or Charades?” It made him smile.

Then, a thought occurred to him. Morgan and Reid had a pretty large age difference between them as well—eight years. If they made it work, maybe he and— Aaron stopped himself. He needed to stop thinking this way. It was inappropriate.

Melissa sat silently on a chair next to the hospital doors. She couldn’t go back to Aaron, she thought, and face his teammates staring at her. When she had run to him, she hadn’t been thinking straight, and now that she was, she knew she shouldn’t have embraced him like that. She growled at herself. Why was she so stupid?

“Ready?” Aaron walked up to her, hands in his pockets.

Nodding, Melissa followed him out to the SUV that the SDPD had loaned him and his team. The drive was silent and Melissa wanted to disappear. Had she really thought SSA Aaron Hotchner could love her? _HER?_ _Depressed, sullied her?_

She honestly hadn’t noticed the idea come. One moment it just appeared. She had feelings for Aaron. And she wanted with all her heart for him to feel the same. But she knew that wasn’t reality. This wasn’t a fairy tale. He wasn’t her Knight in Shining Armor. This was real life. And real life sucks.

“S . . . Stop the car.”

“What?” Aaron replied.

“Stop the car. I need to get out. Stop the car.” Tears now streamed down her face.

“Is everything okay?” He put his blinker on to move to the right side of the road.

“Just stop. Stop the car.” Her voice cracked, “Please.”

Before Aaron had safely put the car in park, Melissa jumped out and ran. She heard him call after her, but she did not dare look back. She ran as hard and fast as she could to get away from the sound of his voice. And she knew exactly where she was going.

For the last few months a thought had plagued her: the only way to end the pain was to kill herself. When the thought had first appeared, she had ignored it, but the thought kept coming, and eventually she realized it really was true. What did she have to offer the world anyways? She was wasting resources from the community she lived in, resources that could be given to someone who actually could heal. She had no friends, no family, no life. Her job was hell. Her life was hell. Every day she woke up in fear that today would be the day Eric took her again. And she couldn’t take it any longer.

As the bridge appeared, she ran faster, ready to finally end her suffering. She had passed this bridge every day on her way to work. And each day she looked over the ledge wondering if today was the day she’d be ready to jump. Well, today truly was the day, she thought as she climbed over the railing and looked at the rushing traffic below. If the fall didn’t kill her, a car going eighty miles an hour certainly would. It was perfect.

“Melissa?” Aaron breathed out heavily.

Tears started to fall down her cheeks again. “No, Aaron, please, go away.”

“I can’t do that, Melissa. You know I can’t do that.” Aaron stepped a bit closer toward Melissa. He didn’t like having the barrier between them, but he knew if he moved to go over it, she might move too quickly. He could see the desperation in her eyes, just like the day they met. “Melissa, please, stay calm. I’m going to come closer.”

“No!” Melissa began to fidget. “Please, just go away. Go home to your son, to your family, to your life.”

“Melissa,” Aaron cooed, “I’m not going to leave you. My son, Jack, he knows why I’m gone all the time. He knows I save people from danger. And you’re in danger right now. I know this seems like the only way out and probably the easiest thing to do. But I need you to believe me, not that voice in your head. Believe me, okay, Melissa? You’re stronger than this. You can have more than this.”

Melissa crushed her eyes closed, hoping it would stop the tears from flowing and Aaron’s words from entering her heart.

Aaron took another step closer. “You can be happy, Melissa. I know it because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the way you peel a smile from me, and everyone knows I don’t smile that often. I’ve seen the steps you’ve been taking in the community. At least part of you wants to heal, Melissa. And that is why you shouldn’t jump.”

“I can’t . . . I can’t heal. You don’t know what it’s like . . .”

“You’re wrong, Melissa.”

Melissa heard his voice catch in his throat and immediately looked at him, making sure he was okay. She saw the tears well in his eyes, but also noticed how he had taken a few steps closer to her. Looking back at the open air in front of her she tried her hardest to ignore him. He couldn’t take this away from her.

“Three years ago, I wanted to kill myself too.” Aaron shifted his weight closer to Melissa. He stood only a few feet away from her now. “Foyet . . . The Reaper . . . he . . . he took my family from me. And as long as I was alive, Foyet won. Haley . . . she . . . she had to leave her family, her support, her life, because of me. And if I wasn’t alive, then Foyet would leave them alone. And I promised Haley that I’d catch him . . .”

Aaron’s voice faded into the very air that Melissa so wanted to jump into. The silence, however, came as a surprise to Melissa and she quickly looked back at Aaron. Tears ran down his face and his chest heaved abnormally.

“She’s dead because of me,” he whispered, “It’s my fault. I promised her that I’d catch him and I failed.”

Melissa hated to see Aaron’s tears and felt herself drifting closer to him, wanting to comfort him. She hadn’t known the guilt Aaron carried around on his shoulders. She hadn’t known the pain he walked around with every day. Maybe he truly did understand what she was going through, but what did that matter? “If you truly understood, you would let me go, let me jump.”

“I can’t, Melissa. I can’t because I’m being selfish. I couldn’t keep my promise to Haley, but I want to keep my promise to you. I want to keep you safe. I want to see you happy and healthy. And you can be happy, Melissa. I can help you.” He placed one leg over the barrier and reached out his hand. “It’s your choice, Melissa, but I hope you choose life. I hope you choose happiness, because you can have it.”

Aaron could see the doubt in her blue eyes. Damn, he loved those eyes.

“What . . . what about Eric? He’s coming for me, Aaron, and . . .”

“Hey,” he cooed, “one step at a time okay?”

She searched his big brown eyes. “Okay,” she said as she reached for his hand.

Aaron smiled as he felt Melissa’s hand brush his. Wrapping his fingers around her hand, he pulled her back over the barrier to safety, and before he could stop himself, he pulled her into an embrace.

Once more burying her head into his chest, Melissa allowed herself to relax. The sound of his heartbeat calmed her and she felt steady in his arms. She trusted him with all her heart and she knew there was no going back. She loved Aaron Hotchner.


	20. Chapter 20

Feeling Melissa shiver in the night air, Aaron broke the silence. “Let’s get you home.”

“Will you stay with me?” Melissa whispered into his chest.

“Of course,” he replied with a squeeze.

Leading her back down the sidewalk, Melissa saw that Aaron had followed her in the car and hastily parked it on the side of the road with the red, white, and blue lights flashing. She let a small smirk appear on her face. Maybe running away from a police car hadn’t been the best idea.

Aaron opened the door for her and she slid into the front seat. As soon as Aaron came around the car and sat down in the driver’s seat, he once more took her hand. The prospect of losing her, watching her take her own life, had cracked some of his resolve. He needed to feel her skin and presence to remind himself that he had actually talked her off the edge of a bridge. She was here with him, and she wasn’t going to get away any time soon.

“Come with me back to Virginia.”

Embarrassed she had been staring at their interlocked hands, Melissa cleared her throat and absorbed his words. _This_ again. Hadn’t she already said no? Yet as she looked at Aaron’s profile, the street lights illuminating his face, she didn’t feel like saying no. So instead she whispered, “Okay.”

Surprise flashed across Aaron’s face and then a large smile appeared. Melissa had never seen him smile that big and found herself memorizing every smile line on his face.

Frankly, Aaron hadn’t thought Melissa would say yes as easily as she did, but he was grateful that she had. Letting his fears melt away, he brought her hand up to his face and kissed it. It was corny, he knew. It was inappropriate, his inner demon said. But he didn’t care. She was alive, she was there with him, and if he interpreted things correctly, she felt the same way.

Melissa blushed when Aaron kissed her hand and she felt like singing all the way back to her little trailer.

Driving up to her temporary home, Melissa didn’t feel upset thinking this would be the last night spent within the walls. In fact, she couldn’t think of any happy memories created within her time being here—though, she thought, perhaps tonight would be different.

Aaron parked the car and smiled at Melissa. “My team is leaving tomorrow on our plane, would tomorrow be too soon to leave?”

Melissa smiled, happy in the fact that he still hadn’t let go of her hand. “You forget, Agent Hotchner, that I am a world traveler. I’m ready to go whenever adventure calls to me.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “I’ll be inside in a second. I’m just going to call Dave and arrange some things, okay?”

Nodding, Melissa let go of Aaron’s hand first and opened the car door. The night was chilly, though perhaps not as chilly as Virginia would be in February. She wondered if there would be snow there—she didn’t have anything to wear in snow.

Unlocking the door, she grabbed the mail from the box to her right, and turned on the lights. She always turned on the lights while in the doorway. That way, if someone were waiting for her inside, she had a quick exit. Deeming it safe, she walked to the kitchen counter to shift through the mail. _Junk_ , she thought as she threw the magazines and solicitation letters aside. Then she came upon a hand-written letter. Supposing it was just some hand-written letter from a church asking for money, as they did in the beginning of the year, she opened it with a shrug.

Melissa froze when she pulled out a small note which read “Don’t get too comfortable. We will be together again soon.” Her hands began to shake as she looked behind the note and found a picture of herself entering her trailer, grabbing the mail as she had just done. As she had done many nights before. She knew to stay away from routine: change up her habits, walk different routes each day, come home a different time each night. And yet someone had caught her doing the one thing she did every night—entering her home.

“Melissa?”

At the voice she jumped, dropping the pictures.

Rushing to her, Aaron asked, “What is it?” before looking down and seeing the pile of pictures of Melissa had dropped. They were all of her, but none were taken with consent. He noticed that they all had different lighting to them so they had all been taken at different times of day---and, most likely, over various days considering the different outfits Melissa had worn.

Without blinking, Aaron reached out for Melissa, who still shook with fear. “Melissa, hey, I’m here. Look at me. I’m right here.”

Her eyes seemed to focus on him and she allowed him to grab her arm. He led her out the door, down the front steps, and into the police car once more. There was no way he’d allow her to stay there tonight, or any other night for that matter. “Melissa, I’m going to get your stuff, okay? Lock the door and you’ll be safe.”

Melissa snapped back into the world. “What? Aaron, no. Don’t leave me in here. Eric, he’s—he knows I’m here. Don’t leave me.”

Grabbing his phone, Aaron hit a speed dial and a woman responded, “Speak and be heard, bossman. Rossi got me all caught up and said you’d be calling.”

“Garcia,” Aaron spoke, “I have Melissa here on the line. She’s in the police car and I need you to watch over her for a few minutes.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll pull up the satellite gps image of the car. I must admit you do have me baffled, sir, is everything okay?”

“I’m going back into Melissa’s trailer to grab her things. We will be staying at the hotel with the rest of the team tonight. I just need you to keep her company, okay, Garcia?”

“Yes, sir. I can do that. I have the satellite image up right now. I’ve got eyes on the block.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.”

“Aaron . . .” Melissa whined as he shut the door and locked it. Silence engulfed her and she felt her eyes water.

“Err, hello, dear Melissa. I’ve heard so much about you through the team. My name is Penelope Garcia and I can’t wait to meet you. I know that sounds kinda weird but I do want to welcome you to the family, seeing as you and Hotch are . . . well I’m not sure what you and Hotch are. Which is okay, I mean I don’t want to get in your business or anything . . . Um, are you still there?”

Melissa held her breath and watched her trailer’s front door. She felt herself begin rocking in the seat and clenching her fists. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk to this stranger. In fact, all she wanted was to bring back that happy feeling that had swelled in her chest before she had opened that stupid letter.

“Melissa . . . I . . .” Penelope’s voice continued through the phone, “I know you don’t know me, but I want you to know that we—the team—we’re gonna keep you safe. Okay? I . . . I know what it feels like to be scared of someone hurting you. A couple years ago I was shot by this crazy, evil man who just wouldn’t leave me alone because he thought I had uncovered his big scheme or something. And . . . What I’m trying to say is that when that guy tried to come back for me, well, I had my family. I had Hotch, Rossi, Reid, JJ, Prentiss, and my love Derek. They are my family, though we aren’t related by blood—which is a good thing for Reid and Morgan because well—sorry, I digress. I just wanted you to know that you can be a part of our family too, if you want. And we will do everything in our power to protect you.”

As much as she tried, Melissa knew she wasn’t really listening to Penelope. All she wanted in that moment was for Aaron to come back and to get out of here. She honestly didn’t care if he grabbed all of her things—she didn’t need any of it—she just wanted to leave.

Aaron walked out of her trailer then and got into the car. Melissa let herself breathe again.

“Sir?” Garcia called.

“Everything’s fine, Garcia. Thanks for staying on the line. We’re heading to the hotel now, will you inform the team?”

“Yes, your welcome. I’ll do that right now and they will be expecting you.”

“Thanks, Garcia. Have a good night.”

“You too, sir. And, uh, Melissa think about what I said, okay? Garcia out.”

Aaron looked at Melissa as he drove the car out of the community. So much had happened already today and they were both exhausted. Reaching over, Aaron opened his hand as an invitation for Melissa to hold it. When her hand met his, he offered her a smile. Perhaps they could both rest now.

Arriving at the hotel, Dave met them in the lobby.

“Aaron, Garcia only told us you’d be coming here, but she didn’t mention why. What is it?”

“Someone left these pictures in the mail for Melissa. Most likely it was Eric, seeing as the pictures showcase a range of days and time.”

“Which also means he’s been watching her for quite some time,” Dave replied.

Some part of Melissa wanted to yell and scream that she was right there, listening to them. The other part, the more powerful part, had her hiding slightly behind Aaron, using him as a barrier between her and this older gentleman.

Dave noticed and extended his hand. “We haven’t officially met, have we, dear? I’m Dave” he said with a sideways smile.

Mustering her courage, Melissa shook his hand. Aaron trusted him, so she should trust him, right?

“I know you’ve been through a lot today, so why don’t we get you out of that ridiculous diner outfit and into something more comfortable?”

“Dave’s right,” Aaron chimed in, “we can deal with all of this later. Here’s your bag. I’m pretty sure I grabbed everything.”

Nodding, Melissa took the bag and went to the lobby bathroom.

“How is she,” Dave asked Aaron.

Aaron sighed, “I honestly don’t know. Shaken. Scared. Shy.”

“Hey, she agreed to come to home with you, that’s something.”

“Strauss is not going to be happy.”

“Oh, don’t worry about Erin, we can handle her.”

“You know what she’s going to say.”

“Exactly,” Dave slapped Aaron’s back, “which means we can get one step ahead of her.”

Aaron smirked, “oh, she’s going to love that.”

Melissa came out of the bathroom in leggings and an oversized sweater, looking much more comfortable, and approached Aaron. Dave once more gave her a sideways smile and she found that she didn’t find the man scary after all. In fact, he reminded her more of a teddy bear than anything else.

“Garcia placed you in a room with JJ and Prentiss,” Dave said, “is that okay?”

Slipping a quick look at Aaron, Melissa’s eyes betrayed her fear. She barely knew the women, though they had both been kind to her.

“I’ll be right down the hall, Melissa,” Aaron whispered, “and you can trust JJ and Prentiss.”

Nodding, Melissa followed Aaron and Dave through the hotel. As they passed the hotel’s pool, Melissa couldn’t help but smile at the scene. Through the glass windows was Aaron’s team: Derek and Spencer were dancing to the loud pop music, (though “dancing” didn’t exactly describe the way their bodies moved with each other), JJ relaxed on a circular floaty, and Emily practiced her underwater handstands.

Aaron raised an eyebrow at Dave.

“Don’t look at me like that, Aaron. It was this or a bar.”

Aaron frowned, “it looks like they brought the bar here.”

Melissa let out a giggle before she could stop herself. Surprised by the noise, Aaron’s gaze softened.

As they entered the pool, JJ, Prentiss, Reid, and Morgan all exclaimed happily.

Prentiss got out of the pool and spoke, “Hey guys, you should join us! The pool is technically closed, but—“

Spencer jumped in, walking to the new group, with a quirky smile, “but we just showed them our badges and they haven’t bothered us since.”

“I think I’ll pass,” Dave said as he lowered himself into a beach chair. “Now, what alcohol do we have? Anything decent?”

Derek came over, “Hold up, old man. I’m trying to teach the kid here how to salsa and who better to do that than you?”

“What? Just cause I’m Italian?”

“Come on, Rossi,” JJ yelled from her floaty. “We all know you’ve got moves!”

Dave chuckled, “I’m never dancing in front of you guys. As far as I’m concerned I shouldn’t even be seeing you all in your underwear.”

“As if it’s any different than real bathing suits,” JJ replied, “in fact, I’m pretty sure my _real_ bathing suit shows more skin than what I’m wearing right now. Right, Em?”

Emily laughed, “you know I have to agree, bikini’s now-a-days are becoming a lot more scandalous than in years past. And I’ve actually seen JJ’s bathing suit.”

“Aww, why wasn’t I invited?” Derek whined.

“As if,” Emily and JJ said at the same time.

Melissa couldn’t help but feel her worried melt away with this group. They were so . . . carefree, she thought, despite what they did for a living.

“Why don’t you come in, Melissa?” Emily said quietly.

Feeling her voice catch, Melissa fidgeted. “I . . . I don’t know.”

“No worries,” Emily said lightly, “we just have an extra floaty and I thought maybe you’d like to relax a bit.”

Melissa bit her lip. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“I have an extra pair of boxer shorts if you’d want to wear those,” Spencer spoke.

“I have an extra sports bra!” JJ added.

Emily raised an eyebrow, “What do you say, Melissa?”

Glancing at Aaron, Melissa tried to gauge his response. What did he think of all this? Would he come in too?

Almost as if reading her mind, Derek chimed in, “How about you, Hotch? Wanna jump in with us? If you join we have enough people for chicken.”

Keenly aware of Melissa’s gaze on him, Aaron crossed his arms, frowned, and said, “Not a chance.”

Melissa, disappointed at upsetting Aaron, began to reject Emily’s offer. “I don’t think—“

“Aww, come on, Melissa. Don’t let our grumpy Unit Chief ruin the evening.” Derek said, “Now I know you want to, I can see it in your eyes. Let loose with us.”

“What Derek is trying to say,” Spencer elbowed him lightly, “is—“

“Oh no you don’t pretty boy,” Derek growled before pushing Spencer into the pool and jumping in after him.

Spencer came spurting up to the surface coughing and moving his long hair out of his eyes. “Seriously, Derek? JJ did you see what he did?”

“Aww, come here and give me a kiss, it’ll make you feel better.”

“You know, for some odd reason, right now, I don’t want to kiss you.”

“Come here,” Derek said as he grabbed his boyfriend.

Emily lightly touched Melissa’s arm to grab her attention. “What we’re all saying is we’d love it if you joined us, if you want to.”

Melissa looked at the water. She did want to. Swimming had been her favorite activity _before_. It was the main reason she had hitchhiked her way to California, to swim in the Pacific Ocean. She had made it to the beach only once before . . . and since then she hadn’t made an effort to swim.

“Yeah,” Melissa said quietly, “I’d like to.”

Emily smiled, “Awesome! Reid! Where are your boxers?”

“I can get them, Emily,” he said as he climbed out of the pool.

“Em,” JJ called, “my sports bra is in our room in the front zipper of my suitcase. You should probably have Melissa drop her bag off as well while in there.”

Nodding, Emily led the way out the door, but before Melissa left, she took one last glance at Aaron. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed in his refusal to join the pool party. What was his reasoning for saying no anyways, Melissa thought. Perhaps he didn’t know how to swim, she thought. And with that thought Melissa realized she did not know Aaron Hotchner.

Following Emily to the third floor of the hotel, Melissa couldn’t shake the thought that this was a bad idea. She shouldn’t be here with strangers. She shouldn’t have said yes to going to Virginia. She shouldn’t be going swimming.

Emily noticed the change immediately. “Don’t mind, Hotch. He . . . he doesn’t usually join in our shenanigans.”

“Why is that?” Melissa replied as she walked into the hotel room.

“Well, uh, for Hotch it’s just not as easy to let his hair down, I guess. Even getting a smile out of the man is hard enough.”

“So Aaron is the serious one, Dave is the old man, Spencer is the nerd, and Derek is the flirt?”

Emily laughed while rummaging through JJ’s suitcase, “Hey, you catch on fast!”

“What about you and JJ?”

“Hmm, I think you’ll have to ask someone else for my stereotype. JJ, well, she’s kind of like the mother of the group.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” Melissa said as she looked around the room. JJ and Emily had certainly claimed the space already with clothes and mini bar candy wrappers scatted everywhere.

“Yeah, sorry for the mess,” Emily chuckled, “it’s not often we get to stay an extra night in the hotel.”

Melissa took the sports bra that Emily offered her, “You guys travel a lot?”

“Yeah, we do. It helps that we are all basically a family.”

“That’s what Penelope said.”

“Oh, you talked to Pen?”

“Yeah, before we arrived at the hotel. She said you guys were all a big family.”

“She’s right,” Emily smiled, “There was a period of time where I had to leave the team and it was horrible. I went into hiding and they all believed me to be dead, so I couldn’t contact them. It was the worst time of my life, really, not being able to be with my family. I felt so alone. JJ, she kept me afloat.”

Unsure how to answer, Melissa allowed silence to engulf them.

A knock came at the door. “Emily, I have my shorts,” Spencer’s voice came through the door.

Standing up, Emily answered the door. “Thanks, Reid. We will be down in a minute.”


	21. Chapter 21

“You sure you don’t want to join them, Aaron?”

“Positive, Dave.”

Swirling his scotch, Dave looked at his friend sitting next to him. “It would probably make Melissa feel more comfortable around the others.”

“I’m not going to swim in my underwear with my colleagues. Not to mention a woman fifteen years younger than me.”

“Age is just a number, Aaron.”

Aaron frowned, “that’s not true.”

Reid cleared his throat, jumping into Rossi and Hotch’s conversation. “You know there is a popular theory called ‘the rule of seven’ where the boundaries of a socially acceptable relationship are that the age of the younger partner (irrespective of sex) should be no less than seven more than half the older partner’s age.” He continued despite the horrified look on Hotch’s face. “The rule is extensively quoted, but its roots are tough to determine. In its earlier manifestations, it seemed to be a prescription for an ideal age difference rather than the limit of what is socially acceptable. The rule is actually mentioned in ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’ because, in fact, when Malcolm X met his future wife, Betty Sanders, he elucidated the fact that their ages fit the rule of seven as a symbol that they were ordained by God for each other.”

“Reid,” Dave growled, “not helpful.”

Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose, “Can you guys all refrain from talking about my relationship with Melissa, please?”

“Well for us to stop talking about it,” Reid said, “there would have to be something to talk about. Is there a relationship?”

Right then, Melissa and Emily walked in and Aaron felt his face flush. Melissa had only a sports bra and Reid’s boxers on and it made his heart jump. He saw how angular and thin Melissa looked, even Reid’s boxers were rolled up some so that they wouldn’t fall down, and it made his skin boil with anger. And yet, some part of him also couldn’t help but look at how happy she seemed talking with Emily. It made him hopeful really. He had promised her earlier that night—gosh, was it really the same night?—that she could be happy, and here she was ready to join a pool party—that was progress, wasn’t it?

Melissa saw Aaron staring at her and immediately began to hug herself. She didn’t want him—or any of them—to see her ribs and her scars. This was a bad idea, she thought, as she looked at Emily to help her.

Emily saw the fear in Melissa’s eyes and cooed at her, “Hey, it’s okay. We are all just happy you’re here.”

“Aaron doesn’t exactly look happy.”

Emily looked over at Hotch, who realized he was staring and quickly looked away. “Oh, no, Melissa, that’s just his face. You’ll get used to it.”

Involuntarily Melissa giggled. She did have to admit Aaron had the worst case of resting-bitch-face she’d ever seen. She glanced over at him again. “I’m going to go say hi, then I’ll jump in, okay?”

Emily smirked, nodded, and then jumped in the pool.

Derek exclaimed, “yeahhh! Let’s get this party started again! Babe! Get in here!”

As Melissa walked over, Reid smirked as he watched Hotch. Hotch was completely enamored, which wasn’t a normal feeling he guessed for his Unit Chief. “Never mind, you don’t have to answer that question,” Reid said as he scurried back into the pool with the others.

Dave smirked and Aaron begged him with his eyes to stop.

“Hi,” Melissa said quietly as she approached the two men.

Aaron stood up to talk with her, hoping he could hide how flustered he really was. “Hey, I’m glad you chose to join them. You look . . . prepared.”

Melissa gave a forced smile and hid her scarred wrists behind her back. “Can I ask you something?”

Aaron cleared his throat, “sure.”

“Do you know how to swim?”

His brows furrowed, “yeah, I do.”

“Oh, okay. I, uh, just wanted to know. I . . . I’m gonna jump in now.”

Confused, Aaron watched as Melissa walked to the edge of the pool. He could still see her face and was surprised to see that she was excited to jump in. Then, in a perfect dive, she slid into the water. When she came up for air, JJ, Prentiss, Reid, and Morgan clapped for her. The smile that appeared was genuine and almost knocked the wind from Aaron.

“She’s radiant, isn’t she?” Dave whispered.

Aaron scoffed, “I really don’t hide it well, do I?”

“Aaron,” Dave replied, “you’re about as subtle as a brick through a window.”

Sighing, Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. What was he going to do when he was confronted by Straus?

Joining the group of FBI agents, Melissa felt at ease in the water.

"So how did you learn to dive so well?” Derek asked Melissa.

“I was actually a high school swimmer, and I guess I’ve been swimming my whole life, so it just comes naturally I guess.”

“Well you look at ease, that’s for sure!” JJ replied, still floating on her duck-shaped floaty with a drink in her hand.

“But the question is,” Emily chimed in, “can you look as ease in an underwater handstand?”

“Uh,” Melissa hesitated, “I’ve never actually done one.”

“Let’s have a contest!” Derek yelled. “Loser, buys the next round!”

“Why’d you look at me when you said that?” Spencer whined.

“Children, children,” JJ said before taking another sip of her drink, “I’ll be the judge of who can hold the straightest, prettiest underwater handstand.”

“But it is totally unfair!” Spencer chimed in again. “The more submerged in the water you are the easier for you to hold the handstand because the volume of the water negates gravity. So the shortest in the group—in this case, Melissa—is sure to win and the tallest— _me_ —sure to lose!”

“Reid, you’re only an inch taller than me.” Derek said with a smile on his face.

"No, no,” Emily said, “Reid’s right, so to balance it out, Melissa will do her handstand in the shallower side of the pool and Reid you can do one in the deep end. Morgan and I will be somewhere in between you guys.”

“Good plan, Em!” JJ slurred her words a bit, “Let’s have the water only hit to the knees! So we will have to test out who goes where. Reid, since you complained you test first.”

“JJ!” Spencer whined.

Derek laughed, “Go on, pretty boy.”

They all watched as Reid attempted to find a spot where he could do an underwater headstand and still have his knees out of the water. Derek laughed as Spencer’s lanky legs flew in the air and wobbled.

"Tell me, Derek,” Emily joked, “did you know he was this athletic when you fell in love with him?”

Derek laughed, “don’t even get me started, Prentiss.”

“There!” JJ yelled, “Reid stays there!”

As Spencer splashed up, once more pushing his long hair out of his face, Derek swung an arm around his shoulders. “Nice job, pretty boy. I think tonight I’ll show you have to do a real handstand though.”

“Oh! Derek!” Emily laughed while covering her ears, “we do not need to hear that!”

"How 'bout you get your mind out of the gutter, Ms. Emily Prentiss," Derek laughed.

Derek!” JJ yelled, taking another sip of her drink, “your turn to find a spot!”

“Watch and learn, babe,” he said as he dipped under the water and stuck his legs in the air.

Emily nudged Melissa, “I know he’s taken, but I could stare at those legs all day.”

Melissa smiled then awkwardly looked at Spencer.

He replied, “I can hear you, Emily.”

“What?” Emily feigned, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Yep,” JJ said, “he knows what he’s doing. That is where he’ll stay.”

Derek came up for air and flashed everyone a smile, knowing he only had to practice once, unlike his boyfriend.

“Emily, your turn!” JJ said.

“Alright, I’m 5’7, so maybe here?” She dove under the water and stuck her legs up. The water only came to her thighs, which according to Spencer would make the handstand harder but Emily began to show off her skills by bending her legs, spreading them, and finally pretending to ride a bike.

“Show off,” Melissa heard Derek say.

As she came up, Emily looked perfect flipping the excess water from her hair. She really was a show off, Melissa thought.

“I’ll stay here, JJ. Melissa, your turn.”

Nodding, Melissa chose a spot and dove under the water. She had never done a handstand in real life, let alone underwater, but she found it easy to place her hands on the floor and lift her body straight in the air. She didn’t hold the handstand long, however, as she knew instantly that more than her knees would appear above the water with the spot she chose. Coming up for air, she declared she needed a better spot. Getting closer to Emily’s spot, she tried there. Yes, that was the perfect spot.

“Alright, children, I’m going to count to 3 and then you are all going to point your toes to the sky. The person who falls first buys drinks!”

Derek ruffled Spencer’s hair, “let’s see what you got, Reid.”

Spencer grimaced and pushed Derek away.

“3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . GO!” JJ called.

They all dove into the water and held their legs as straight as they could. Melissa felt calm as she held her breath and kept her eyes closed. The water held her tightly and her balance didn’t falter. She realized in that dark silence that she wasn’t scared for once.

Then someone touched her leg and that fear rushed back in. Immediately she recoiled her legs and leapt out of the water. Before she focused on who might have touched her, she was out of the pool and dripping in the closest corner of the room.

Letting her eyes focus, Melissa saw JJ, Emily, Derek, and Spencer watching her from the pool. Aaron too was standing and watching her.

“Sorry . . . I just . . . someone . . . who touched me?”

Emily lifted herself out of the pool, “I did, Melissa, I’m sorry. We just wanted to tell you that you won and could come up out of the water. You held your breath for quite a long time.”

Tears began to well up in Melissa’s eyes. She hadn’t realized how long she was under the water and now everyone was looking at her like she was a freak.

“I . . . I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to . . .” Melissa looked at them. Were they mad at her for ruining the game?

“You didn’t do anything, Melissa,” Emily cooed, “It was my fault, I shouldn’t have touched you. You won though! And wow! You can hold your breath a long time! How did you do it?”

“Um, I don’t know.” Melissa said as she hesitantly walked back toward the pool. In the corner of her eye she saw Aaron sit back down. “Who lost?”

Derek smiled, “guess.”

Melissa looked at Spencer’s grimace, knowing full well Spencer had lost. But, instead of saying this, she said, “You, Derek.”

Spencer looked up quickly and laughed, Emily coughed, and Derek faked hurt.

“You wound me, Melissa. Why don’t we have a second competition and I can show you who really won?”

Melissa’s brows furrowed, “who? Emily?”

Once more the group laughed as Morgan feigned being upset, and Melissa lowered herself to the edge of the pool with a smile on her face. Her fear had receded and she couldn’t help but be proud of herself for salvaging the situation.

She heard Emily slide into the water and slash Derek.

“Oh no you didn’t,” Derek said as he splashed her back.

Spencer joined in, happy to come to his boyfriend’s aid.

Smiling, Melissa slid in and joined in the splash battle. 


End file.
